Image Comics

Every week, Image Comics sends a newsletter about our upcoming releases to retailers with a letter at the beginning. This message, by Image Comics PR & Marketing Director Jennifer de Guzman was in the March 6, 2012 newsletter. It has been slightly edited for its publication here.

Watch out: Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch Went There. In a message titled “TWICE AS MUCH AS MARVEL FOR A DOLLAR LESS,” the creators of AMERICA’S GOT POWERS announced their plan to release a double-length issue one for only $2.99, citing the story’s need “to breathe.” It was a creative decision in an industry where the needs of story and art increasingly seem to come after the desires of business and commerce.

Luckily, at Image, Publisher Eric Stephenson and creators Ross and Hitch could make this decision on a Wednesday afternoon and have the word sent out to press before the end of the day — because it was the right move for the story.

AMERICA’S GOT POWERS #2 will have an in-store date of May 9, with subsequent issues appearing monthly.

I haven’t been at Image long enough to tell you “I told you so,” but if this year’s trends are any indication, AMERICA’S GOT POWERS may give me that opportunity. This newsletter alone has listings for four second printings (FATALE #3, HELL YEAH #1, INVINCIBLE #89 and THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #1), three of which are for issues that haven’t even gone on sale in stores yet. I fully expect you’ll be seeing a listing for a second printing of AMERICA’S GOT POWERS #1 soon.

AMERICA’S GOT POWERS is just one of many independent superhero titles Image is publishing, giving the lie to the trope that no one but the Big Two can succeed with superheroes. One of the superhero titles coming out next month, DANGER CLUB #1, is by a team that has made a name for themselves in the past few years, and with whom I’ve had the privilege of working with for my whole career in comics. Another, SUPEREME #63, is by two of the most respected veterans in comics.

-JdG

THEY LOOK AT DANGER…
Landry Q. Walker and Eric Jones are a proven artistic team. Their Supergirl miniseries, Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade, and run on Batman: The Brave and the Bold were acclaimed by critics and readers. They’ve been in the independent comics scene for decades, but DANGER CLUB is the first time they are writing their own superhero comic. DANGER CLUB gives superhero stories a Lord of the Flies twist, as superpowered teenagers, unsupervised and untested, have to save the world after the heroes to whom they were sidekicks disappear. Walker and Jones have been known for their all-ages work, but DANGER CLUB, an exploration of how power affects those who hold it, is more mature in its tone and content.


OUT OF THE VAULT
Alan Moore’s final SUPREME story is finally seeing the light of day — and drawn by SAVAGE DRAGON creator and Image partner Erik Larsen, no less. SUPREME #63, like all of the Extreme relaunches, is a jumping-on point for new readers, and with a story that has Supreme taking on his arch-nemesis Darius Dax and an appearance by Suprema, this issue won’t disappoint. Larsen is going to take over both writing and drawing duties with SUPREME #64, so don’t miss out on that, either.