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News Archives: August 2007
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ESPIONAGE COMES FULL CIRCLE
Brian Reed comes to Image this November!
August 30th, 2007 (Berkeley, CA) - Brian Reed has already made a splash in the comics industry on such titles as Ms. Marvel and New Avengers: Illuminati, but this November he and the video game concept artist behind Ultimate Spider-Man, Ian Hosfeld, launch their first creator-owned book, THE CIRCLE, a full color ongoing espionage series.
"It's in the vein of the classic TV show Mission: Impossible, or The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and somewhat inspired by the fantastic long running comic strip Modesty Blaise," says writer Brian Reed. "The Circle is a group of freedom fighters that first formed amidst the horrible civil wars in the Baltics during the late 1990's, and today operate as guns for hire."
The first story arc, "The Goliath Trap" follows a stringer for M16 after stumbling into a continent spanning battle between The Circle and a rogue CIA assassin over a stolen nuclear missile train code-named 'Goliath'."
THE CIRCLE #1 (SEP071947), a 32-page full color ongoing series with a cover price of $2.99, will be available for order in the September issue of Previews and will go on sale November 14th.
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CREATE THE FUTURE, DESTROY THE PAST
Nightly News' Jonathan Hickman returns this November with all-new miniseries!
August 29th (Berkeley, CA) - Jonathan Hickman, the innovative creator behind the critically acclaimed NIGHTLY NEWS, brings his unique sensibility to science fiction this November in PAX ROMANA, a four-issue, full-color miniseries.
"PAX ROMANA is probably not the book people expected next from me," says writer/artist Jonathan Hickman. "In many ways, it’s a better end product than The NIGHTLY NEWS, and I think people will be pleasantly surprised at the evolution of both my storytelling and art. And sure, there is the obvious difference: THE NIGHTLY NEWS was, more or less, grounded in a reality and PAX ROMANA is historical science fiction, but you’re also going to find the same amount of research, hard work and passion – just in a better package. I’m extremely proud of it.”
While THE NIGHTLY NEWS was a gripping, media-centric thriller with an edgy political slant, Hickman is best known for utilizing an art style consisting of double page spreads which married traditional comic art with elements of graphic design. With PAX ROMANA, Jonathan will again be pushing the boundaries of storytelling while telling the tale of 5,000 men sent on an impossible mission to change the past and save the future.
Owner of San Francisco, CA's Isotope, James Sime says, "Jonathan Hickman deserves a standing ovation for leading the pack of exciting new creative talent in our industry. Combining tense storytelling with beautiful artwork and more than just a little jaw-dropping design... if he's not already, Hickman is sure to be your next-favorite-thing in the world of comics!"
PAX ROMANA #1 (SEP071955), a 32-page full color four-issue mini-series with a cover price of $3.50, will be available for order in the September issue of Previews and will go on sale November 28th.
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FEARFUL SYMMETRY
A true man without fear strikes this November!
August 28th, 2007 (Berkeley, CA) - This November GROUNDED's Mark Sable, 2000 AD's P.J. Holden and industry newcomer David Roth reinvent what it means to be a man without fear with FEARLESS, an all-new full color four-issue miniseries.
"If you're going to do a superhero book these days you really need to do something unique," says Mark Sable. "FEARLESS is far from typical. The lead is a literal man without fear, as behind the mask he's paralyzed with a crippling anxiety disorder, but an anti-fear drug enables him to fight the war on crime. A life of dependency crashes down when his supply runs completely dry. What comes next is the crux of the series."
Sable is best known for his work on the critically-acclaimed GROUNDED and artist P.J. Holden is revered for his work on 2000 AD, while co-writer David Roth has a background in film and television. However, the itch to work in comics has been a long time coming.
David Roth explains, "This has been an amazing experience. Working with people as talented as Mark and PJ in this new medium has been a creative windfall. From inception to execution, it seems like every idea becomes a possibility, while this unprecedented level of control over the process has been both rewarding and educational. I couldn't be happier with the results of our collaboration on FEARLESS."
FEARLESS #1 (SEP071951), a 32-page full color four-issue miniseries with a cover price of $2.99, will be available for order in the September issue of Previews and will go on sale November 7th.
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TROPICAL NOIR RETURNS WITH HAWAIIAN DICK ONGOING
Hawaiian Dick ongoing launches this November!
August 25th (Berkeley, CA) - The Eisner-award nominated HAWAIIAN DICK miniseries have both garnered a lot of attention, but this November creators B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin team up with Tek Jansen and Northwest Passage artist Scott Chantler to bring fans their monthly dose of tropical noir.
"HAWAIIAN DICK has always been my favorite series to write," says writer B. Clay Moore. "It hits all of my favorite interests - the '50s, cocktails and the supernatural. While I'm very proud of 'Byrd of Paradise' and 'The Last Resort,' I always felt a little restricted in the miniseries format. I wanted to allow plotlines to develop more naturally. After years of mulling it over, everything came together when Steve and I met Scott Chantler."
This newfound freedom allows Moore to flesh out the world of Byrd, a disgraced Stateside detective who lands in Hawaii to forget his recent troubles. However, forces both criminal and supernatural force him out of his self imposed retirement. Byrd's new cases will be drawn Scott Chantler in the lead story while Steven Griffin will provide covers and a six-page back up every issue.
Image Comics Executive Direction Eric Stephenson adds, "To see HAWAIIAN DICK go from fledgling miniseries to a franchise strong enough to support an ongoing means a lot. We couldn't be prouder of this title, or more excited for Clay, Steven and Scott."
HAWAIIAN DICK #1 (SEP071953), a 32-page full color ongoing series with a cover price of $2.99, will be available for order in the September issue of Previews and will go on sale November 21st.
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IN DEFENSE OF OUR GALAXY, CAPTAIN VICTORY RETURNS!
Kirby classic returns to print!
August 21st, 2007 (Berkeley, CA) - Image Comics' archival collections of Jack "King" Kirby's creator-owned work continues with CAPTAIN VICTORY AND THE GALACTIC RANGERS!
"CAPTAIN VICTORY is to NEW GODS what NEW GODS was to THOR," says Image Comics Publisher Erik Larsen. "Jack once again reinvented age-old archetypes into something completely new and different. This series is the combination of the bombastic, over-the-top action and mythology of NEW GODS with super-gadget-packed, space-faring adventure stories."
This hardcover collection will contain the entire 14-issue run originally published by Pacific Comics and will include an assortment of backup material much like Image's previous Kirby collection, SILVER STAR. In addition, each page will be completely re-mastered and re-colored.
Image Comics Executive Director Eric Stephenson adds, "It's an honor to add another Kirby classic to the Image line, especially in such a definitive edition. These collections represent Jack at his purest. New ideas are invented every other panel; new characters appear in practically every issue. We're very proud to return CAPTAIN VICTORY to print."
CAPTAIN VICTORY AND THE GALACTIC RANGERS HC (SEP071945), a 376-page hardcover with a cover price of $44.99, will be available for order in the September issue of Previews and will go on sale in November 28th.
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ADVENTURES OF SPAWN 2 ONLINE COMIC COMING TO SPAWN.COM!
First 11 Pages Go Live Next Friday!
The adventure continues.
On the heels of the successful The Adventures of Spawn Issue 1 online comic, SPAWN.com is hoping to catch lightning in a bottle one more time, bringing back the characters from the first online issue. The Adventures of Spawn Issue 2 will contain 22 action-packed digital pages of online adventure.
And next Friday, Aug.11, the first 11 pages go live on SPAWN.com.
What do we have up our sleeves for AOS 2? New characters, new stories, new adventure and extensive bios centered on the characters from the Adventures of SPAWN Series 2 action figures!
Check out this link to check out their newly redesigned main page for this exciting online comic.
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DYNAMO 5 LOWERS PRICE
Bold new story, bold new price!
August 13th, 2007 (Berkeley, CA) - Jay Faerber and Mahmud A. Asar's DYNAMO 5 pulls off the impossible as a new storyline lowers its price to $2.99.
"The reception to our first arc has gone above and beyond what we imagined," says writer Jay Faerber. "So much so we're confident enough to lower the cost by a substantial amount. This combined with the inexpensively priced trade paperback should make it easy to bring on any reluctant readers."
Issue #8 opens with the illegitimate children of Captain Dynamo torn apart by revelations they never saw coming. In fact, their latest battle has them fighting against their strongest foe yet without their two most powerful members. Much like the preceding arc this one promises one shocker after another with further secrets changing the way you look at our titular team.
Image Comics Publisher Erik Larsen says, "It's hard to launch an all new superteam in a market flooded with them. Despite all that Jay and Mahmud have put out something unlike any other funnybook on the racks. We couldn't be happier with the book performing far beyond our projections."
DYNAMO 5 #8 (AUG072006), a 32-page comic with a cover price of $2.99, will be available for order in the August issue of Previews and will go on sale October 10.
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FAREWELL TO THE FUTURE!
The Future Ends This December!
August 10th (Berkeley, CA) - The future's end is revealed in THE OVERMAN, a five-issue science fiction miniseries event from Image Comics, written by Scott Reed and illustrated by the critically acclaimed artist behind NBM's North Country, Shane White.
"The story is a stark and direct manifesto of the future," says writer, Scott Reed "It's set in a neo-deco futuristic Pittsburgh, and begins much like a detective story. The plot escalates beyond that, into something surreal and incredibly devastating."
Hired killer Nathan Fisher stumbles upon a vast, cryptic plot to merge Mankind with a bio-mechanical species, a scheme that could result in the total enslavement of Earth and beyond. Risking everything, and skirting the edge of madness, Nathan must somehow find a way to stop the mastermind behind this apocalyptic goal; a powerful corporation called Omakon, and their ancient, perverse president, Arnold Reitch.
Fans attending WizardWorld Chicago can get a sneak peek at the first chapter of The Overman, August 10-12th at booth #5206.
THE OVERMAN #1, a 32-page comic with a cover price of $2.99, will be available for order in the October issue of Previews and will go on sale December. For more information, please see www.theovermancomic.com.
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IMAGE COMICS SELLS OUT!
Five titles simultaneously sell out!
August 9th, 2007 (Berkeley, CA) - Despite substantial over prints DUST #1, INVINCIBLE 43 & 44, MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #3 and THE WALKING DEAD #39 have all sold out at the distributor level.
"Having such a wild variety of titles sell out at the same time showcases what's great about Image," said Erik Larsen, Publisher of Image Comics. "Each of these titles caters to a completely different audience, but every single one is in major demand."
Since 1992, Image Comics has been the premier home for creator-owned work of just about every genre with styles all over the artistic continuum. MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #3's philosophical search for self as told through the history of sequential art extremely differs from THE WALKING DEAD #39's horrific set up to the upcoming series-altering story arc.
Larsen adds, "These are cartoonists, writers and artists at the top of the game doing the work they've wanted to do their entire lives with an immense amount of success. It's books like these I dreamed of when we first formed Image. I couldn't be happier."
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FRAZETTA RETURNS!
New Frazetta projects to hit in 2008!
August 9th, 2007 (Berkeley, CA) - Following the massive success of Frank Frazetta's DEATH DEALER, the artistic legend has approved a slate of new titles to hit stores in 2008.
"The overly positive reception of DEATH DEALER made it obvious fans want more Frazetta-related titles," said Jay Fotos, editor of the line. "Not only are we following it up with another high fantasy mini-series by the same creative team, SILVER WARRIOR, but there are a lot of other painting inspired stories we're going to get out there."
Joshua Ortega, the writer behind DEATH DEALER and SILVER WARRIOR, returns first with SWAMP DEMON, a one-shot that explores the world in DEATH DEALER, albeit 500 years in the past.
DARK KINGDOM, a one-shot by Mark Kidwell, will also explore other aspects of the world SWAMP DEMON and DEATH DEALER inhabit, but in a very different light. This variety in Frazetta's painting style is far from limited to fantasy, opening up the possibility for titles outside of the DEATH DEALER world.
Fotos explains, "One thing I love about Frazetta's library is its variety. He's well known not only for mastering fantasy, but he also excels at sci-fi and horror. We're going to showcase these sides of Frank as well."
Those sides will be explored in two one-shots, DRACULA VS. THE WOLFMAN by 30 Days of Night's Steve Niles and CREATURES by Rick Remender. DRACULA VS. THE WOLFMAN is a visceral showdown between the horror icons unlike any that has gone before. Meanwhile, CREATURES will fuse Indiana Jones and 'X-Files' as Teddy Roosevelt's secret life as a paranormal investigator has him going against some of Frazetta's most frightening creations.
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THE PROOF IS OUT THERE
Our world gets weird this October!
August 7th, 2007 (Berkeley, CA) - What bumps in the night comes to light this October in Image's newest ongoing series, PROOF, courtesy of Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo.
"Our lead, FBI Agent Ginger Brown, is an 'every woman' forced into a world usually seen in THE WEEKLY WORLD NEWS and X-FILES," says Grecian. "The Loch Ness Monster, Mothman and her new partner, Bigfoot, prove to be much more than folklore. PROOF kicks off with Agent Brown reluctantly accepting how warped her life has become. However, she quickly finds out that's merely the beginning. Things get much stranger real fast."
As Grecian mentioned, PROOF's co-protagonist is the king of urban legend himself, Bigfoot, in a role unlike any he's taken before. The missing link is now a veteran agent renowned for uncovering the unknown. Although, as we find out with Agent Brown, he's only the first in a long line of creatures who are far different from what the public believes.
Rossmo explains, "We're aiming to overhaul the usual expectations of a sci-fi series. Our Bigfoot completely contradicts his usual role. Although, that's just the beginning as our first issue ends with El Chubacabra in a form that differs from any before."
PROOF (AUG071987), a 32-page comic with a cover price of $2.99, will be available for order in the August issue of Previews and will go on sale in October 24th.
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ACCELERATE YOUR FUTURE
Pander Brothers series collected in a definitive edition!
At the birth of the the new millennium, multi-media mavericks The Pander Brothers combined forces with the best-selling author Richard Kadrey, to create a future unlike any other. This coming October it finally returns, thanks to Image Comics' Shadowline in a definitive collection featuring an all new cover and never before seen interiors.
"When the 21st century kicked in, we wanted to do a project that suited the state of mind as we entered into a millennium full of endless possibilities." say the Pander Brothers. "Accelerate is a collaboration with cyber novelist Richard Kadrey whose vision of a futuristic Los Angeles captured our imagination and we created a technocratic art style for this fast paced futurist vision."
Kadrey, who just recently released his long awaited Butcher Boy, took his past history as one of the forefathers of the cyberpunk movement and combined it with the Pander Brothers' unique sensibilities to create the original miniseries. The end mix is a comic book cocktail of futurism, hiphop and and alternate dimensions. Since then magazines such as Details, Spin, Paper and Wired have spotlighted their work, including their upcoming feature film SELFLESS, making the timing of this new collection perfect.
The Pander Brothers add, "For this new collection we've created a number of double page images to further illuminate the over-the-top world that the characters in Accelerate inhabit. We hope you enjoy the ride."
Accelerate (AUG071991), a black and white $12.99 tradepaperback, arrives on stands October 31st.
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