Image Comics

This April, the critically acclaimed Image Comics series HOAX HUNTERS presents a fun and unique issue that can be readily enjoyed by both current readers and new fans. Riffing on the hook of the series, where a group of “myth-busters” travel the world dispelling various lore on their reality TV show, issue #9 of HOAX HUNTERS presents both sides of their story. One half shows what happened on-air, what you’d see if you watched an episode; the other shows what happened behind the scenes, how the HOAX HUNTERS team manipulated everything—in this case, a haunted house confrontation—that happened to make it appear to be fake.

“With issue #9 and the use of the flip book  feature, we allowed ourselves a dynamic and uncharacteristic way to show what happens in front of and behind the camera to super fun effect,” said Steve Seeley, co-writer.

The issue will literally have two opposing halves and thus two covers, each from Joe Eisma (MORNING GLORIES). Readers will be able to check out one half of the story then flip the comic over for the other half. Brent Schoonover (MR. MURDER IS DEAD) fills in as guest artist for this special issue.

“This is, to me, a great representation of everything that Hoax Hunters is about—fun, inventive, and willing to take risks,“ said co-writer Michael Moreci.

HOAX HUNTERS has met with critical praise since its launch:

“Fresh, exciting, and delightfully bizarre”—Ain’t It Cool News
“10 of 10”—Newsarama
“Out of all the new comics that debuted this year, none of them captured my imagination like Hoax Hunters."—Horror Talk
“A comic on the verge of greatness”—Read Comic Books
“A-“—Weekly Comic Review
“Worth the cover price each and every month”—IGN

HOAX HUNTERS #9 will be in stores April 17 (Diamond Code FEB130447) and is available now for preorder. Readers who want to learn more can visit www.hoaxhunterscomic.blogspot.com.

The solicitations that went out the weekend of February 16th confirm the news: the relaunch of Joe’s Comics, the imprint that created Midnight Nation and Rising Stars, is officially underway with the first of what will be an entire line of new, original titles.

TEN GRAND, the first title to come out from Joe’s Comics, will be published by Image Comics and officially debut May 1st, with a convention variant to be unveiled at C2E2 in Chicago the week before.

The premise: Joe Fitzgerald was a mob enforcer until the day he met Laura, who convinced him to leave that world behind. Before quitting, Joe agrees to one last job, little realizing that the man he's been sent to kill was deeply involved in demonlogy. He survives Joe's attempt and comes after him, fatally wounding Joe and killing Laura. As he lies dying, an angelic force promises that if Joel agrees to work for them as a different kind of enforcer, they will bring him to life and keep on bringing him to life every time he is killed in a righteous cause. The reward: for those five minutes of death, he will be with Laura again. Would you endure an eternity of pain and death, dying over and over, to be with the woman you love for just five minutes each time you died? Most people might say no. But Joe Fitzgerald isn't most people.

The return of Joe’s Comics has been in the works for several years, awaiting the right time to go forth.

“The temptation to bring back Joe’s Comics has been very powerful over the last few years,” said creator J. Michael Straczynski, “but I really wanted to wait until I had a collection of stories that I absolutely had to tell, that, like Midnight Nation, wouldn’t let me go until they were told. Stories that could be dark, funny, deeply personal but also played out on a large stage in terms of action. As those started to show up over the last few years – often in the middle of the night, which is why Joe’s Comics bears the slugline 'where it’s always five minute to midnight' – I began to pull them together until I felt I had what I needed, and made the deal with Image to move forward.”

The art on TEN GRAND (interiors and covers) is being provided by Ben Templesmith, the New York Times best-selling Australian comic artist and writer most widely known for co-creating 30 Days of Night with Steve Niles and Fell with Warren Ellis.

“How could I say no to working with the guy that created Babylon 5, that fairly well shaped how I think about science fiction and long form TV?” Templesmith said. “It was an honor to be asked and I can but hope to rise to the occasion.”

Straczynski spoke about TEN GRAND to MTVGeek , which also ran an exclusive preview of Templesmith's interior art.

Issues #1 and #2 will also feature variant covers by Bill Sienkiewicz as well as Phantom variants. Like the other Joe’s Comics titles, TEN GRAND will run in twelve-issue installments, with two to three months in between each installment to make any corrections and get ahead on finished books.

“Watching this project come together with JMS and Ben has been thrilling,” said Patricia Tallman, CEO of Studio JMS, parent company of Joe’s Comics. “The ideas and concepts flying between them are so edgy and awesome, I can't wait to share them with fans everywhere. Hang on, you're in for one hell of a ride!”

Phil Smith, production editor for Joe’s Comics, had this to say: “Whenever someone suggests a small way to do something, Joe comes back with 'Why don't we do it bigger?' Bigger? In an age of figuring how to get something for nothing, Joe is pushing himself and his work to the cutting edge. Tapping not just the best creators but the right creators to express, not just his ideas, but their artistic ideas through his name branded line of books, will, again, set a new standard in the world of creator-owned works.”

“The most important thing we would do with this launch was, and is, to ensure that the issues hit retailers on schedule,” Straczynski said. “So we started early, stockpiling scripts and art. We had our first lettered, finished issue last November, for a book that wouldn’t be coming out until May.”

In keeping with the innovation and experimentation that has been the hallmark of Joe’s Comics, readers will find a QR code in the back of the first issue that will lead them directly to an audio performance of the book’s dialogue by some of the top voice actors in the business, including Babylon 5 alumnus Robin Atkin Downes, Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt.

“We wanted to give readers an option of reading the book in the usual way, or sitting back to listen to the parts being performed while enjoying Ben’s amazing artwork. We’re very happy with how the first staged reading worked out,” Straczynski said, “and if there’s enough demand, we may do more of these in the future.”

TEN GRAND #1 is available for pre-order in the March issue of Previews. Ten pages of preview art can viewed on the Image Comics site, here.

SIDEKICK, the second title to be launched from Joe’s Comics, will debut at Comic-Con International in San Diego with a convention variant. This will be followed in the fall by ALONE and PROTECTORS, INC. (artist announcements pending).


Here’s what some of the best lights in the comics business have to say about the first issue of TEN GRAND:

“Ten Grand is equal parts PI noir thriller and supernatural revenge tale. JMS is in cracking form as is Ben Templesmith’s moody, disturbing art. Like its damned hero, Joe Fitzgerald, Ten Grand is worth every cent!”
– Andy Lanning (Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Legion Lost)

“Ten Grand is grim and ugly and disturbing ... which is exactly the way it's supposed to be. This is Straczynski and Templesmith doing what they do best.”
– Ron Marz (Witchblade, Artifacts, Shinku, Green Lantern)

“Straczynski’s new book brings the supernatural back down to earth in a way we haven’t seen since John Constantine – all the way down to the bar, the back-alley and the gutter. Joe Fitzgerald is a hitman with values. Straczynki’s hard-edged narrative is perfectly matched with Ben Templesmith’s raw, uncompromising and hopefully beer-stained art.”
– David Hine (Spawn, The Darkness, Bulletproof Coffin, Storm Dogs)

“With Ten Grand, Straczynski and Templesmith deliver a heartbreaking story about a former hitman named Joe who, unfortunately for him and those around him, knows all too well that the reality we all know and love isn’t the only reality out there. No, sir. There’s also a reality where demons run amok, angels communicate by possessing the bodies of strippers, and a special keyboard shows you the real Internet. This is great stuff. More, please!”
– William Harms, award-winning writer of InFamous and Impaler

Seattle convention takes place March 1-3

Emerald City Comicon this week in Seattle is set to be eventful for fans of Image Comics, as the company is rolling out not just three great panels and five exclusive covers for the convention, but also a signing schedule packed with some of the comic industry's best and brightest.

The full schedule of signings taking place at Image's booth (#1100) is as follows:

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Tickets for each day's ticketed signings will be available at the Image Comics booth, beginning at the start of the convention day. Tickets are limited and are given out on a first-come-first-served basis. The signing schedule is subject to change. Ryan Ottley will be signing at the Skybound booth, just opposite of the Image booth.

Emerald City Comicon takes place on March 1-3 in the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

Image Comics is set to make a strong showing at Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, with exclusive convention editions, a full slate of signings by Image creators, and panels featuring some of comics' top writers and artists! The convention takes place on March 1-3 in the Washington State Convention Center.

Five Image Comics convention exclusives will be available to purchase at the Image Comics booth (#1110):

FIVE GHOSTS #1 by Frank Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham

LOST VEGAS #1 by Jim McCann and Janet Lee, convention exclusive cover by Dan McDaid

SEX #1 by Joe Casey and Piotr Kowalksi

THE WALKING DEAD: THE GOVERNOR SPECIAL by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard (available at the Skybound booth, just opposite of the Image booth)

UNCANNY SKULLKICKERS #1 by Jim Zub and Edwin Huang

All convention exclusives are available in limited quantity at the beginning of each convention day, during creator signings, and at creators' Artist Alley tables (check Emerald City Comic Con's website for names and locations).

The Image Comics signing schedule will be released soon, so keep an on Image's website.

There will be three Image Comics panels in Emerald City Comicon's programming, each promising to be a lively discussion.

Putting the "Graphic" in Graphic Novels
It's time to talk about sex and violence! Black Kiss II, Butcher Baker, Sex, Saga, Happy!, Multiple Warheads, Sex Criminals: these comics are definitely not for kids. Image Comics creators who aren't shying away from adult situations talk about creating comics for grown-ups. Is there really such a thing as "gratuitous"? What's it like to be banned in the UK and Canada? Join some of comics most respected creators for an eye-opening conversation. Panelists: Joe Casey (Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker, Sex), Howard Chaykin (Black Kiss II), Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals), Brandon Graham (Multiple Warheads), Fiona Staples (Saga) FRIDAY 5 PM Hall B

Skybound: On the Rise
There’s no limit on what to expect from Skybound, Robert Kirkman’s imprint at Image Comics. The Walking Dead continues to dominate comics and television, Invincible just hit its historic 100th issue, and new series are on the horizon. Join Charlie Adlard, Ryan Ottley and more as they discuss what’s in Skybound’s future.
Panelists: Ryan Ottley, Charlie Adlard, Phil Hester, Josh Williamson SATURDAY 1 PM Hall B

Wondrous Worlds, Fractured Futures: Speculative Fiction and Image Comics
With the unlimited potential of comics, there is perhaps no better medium for speculative fiction than comics. Limited only by their imaginations, Image Comics creators have been creating far-flung universes and dystopian futures where science, fantasy, and technology explode in rich possibilities. Find out why they choose science fiction, how they build worlds, and what inspires them. Panelists: Duffy Boudreau (BlackAcre), Joe Harris (Great Pacific), Fiona Staples (Saga), Richard Starkings (Elephantmen), Kurtis J. Wiebe and Riley Rossmo (Debris) SUNDAY 1 PM Hall B

Fumbling lives and loves, a New York City so real you can smell it, people with everyday problems and hopes — this is the world of Bob Fingerman's Minimum Wage, a slice-of-life comic that captured a devoted following in the late 1990s. One of that following is Robert Kirkman, who writes the introduction to the definitive edition of Fingerman's seminal work, MAXIMUM MINIMUM WAGE, a hardcover collection to be released in March.

"Minimum Wage is an important comic," Kirkman writes in the introduction. "If I were tasked with introducing someone to comics in an attempt to make them love and cherish the medium as much as I do, I'd give them Watchmen, Bone, Savage Dragon, and Minimum Wage."

At the center of Minimum Wage are Rob and Sylvia, a freelance cartoonist and a beauty salon manager — young, in love, and just trying to make their way to their real lives. An array of vivid characters and New York City "personalities" round out the supporting cast. Fingerman's previous collection of Minimum Wage, Beg the Question was nominated for two 2003 Eisner Awards (Best Graphic Novel — Reprint and Best Publication Design), one 2003 Harvey Award (Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work), and one 2003 Ignatz Award (Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection).

MAXIMUM MINIMUM WAGE includes the "lost" first issue of Minimum Wage, Minimum Wage Book One, as well as the script for the never-drawn eleventh issue, and an impressive collection of pin-ups by top comics artists, including Peter Bagge, Guy Davis, Dean Haspiel, Gilbert Hernandez, Joe Infurnani, Roger Langridge, Kevin Nowlan, Dave Johnson, Ted McKeever, Mike Mignola, Jill Thompson and more!

A 384-page, black-and-white hardcover book (with 16 pages in full-color), MAXIMUM MINIMUM WAGE will be in stores on March 20 and retail for $34.99. Its ISBN is 978-1-60706-674-3.


PRAISE FOR BOB FINGERMAN

“Fingerman is a brilliant satirist, artist and mind.” ⎯ Trey Parker (South Park, The Book of Mormon)

“Bob Fingerman is a narrative master, as brilliantly adept with words as with images. His vision is urbane, riotous, and unflinching.” ⎯ Jonathan Lethem (The Fortress of Solitude, Omega: The Unknown)

“Mr. Fingerman is a deeply talented, creative, and disturbed man.” — Max Brooks (World War Z)

“It doesn’t seem fair that Bob Fingerman gets to be such a funny, savvy, cool and smart writer who can also draw. It gives him an advantage and I may need to have him assassinated.” — Augusten Burroughs (Running With Scissors)

PRAISE FOR BOB FINGERMAN’S MINIMUM WAGE (previous editions):

“Fingerman’s visual style is a witty combo of old-school underground-comics grunginess and new-school precision; his dialogue is worthy of the stage — it’s terrific screwball-comedy byplay that rings true. A-” — Entertainment Weekly

“Fingerman’s dialogue is biting and realistic, and his drawing is exceptional.” — Publishers Weekly

“Beg The Question's episodic, interwoven tales of career disappointments and romantic complications take on the mesmeric quality of a good soap opera…the writing and the art contain plenty of stark, truthful moments.” — The A.V. Club

“Fingerman depicts their eventful if directionless lives with humor and empathy… Anyone who has lived or envied la vie boheme should relate to this dead-on evocation of a contemporary version of it.” — Booklist

“Beg the Question is a coming-of-age graphic novel for twenty-somethings and anyone who remembers being that age. It is a funny, heartwarming, and poignant work. It helps make the case for comics being THE great American art form.” — The Comic Buyers' Guide

“…a meticulous, smutty, hilarious quasi-autobiographical slice of life about a young cartoonist maintaining grownup relationships while struggling to rise from the ‘low-end of the New York food chain.’ Funny if you’ve been there, even funnier if you still are.” — The New York Press

Jackie Estacado, crime boss and wielder of an ancient force called the Darkness, seemed to have his life under control. In the unfolding "Breaking Dark" story arc of Top Cow's long-running series THE DARKNESS, Jackie has used the power endowed by the Darkness to remake the world according to his will. But this act has had disastrous consequences. Jackie's doppelganger has taken over his crime organization, his wife's mind is slowly unraveling, and his daughter Hope is the most powerful vessel for the Darkness to ever have existed.

In this decaying world, Hope embarks on her own journey in THE DARKNESS #112, the first half of a two-part story that is a perfect jumping-on point for readers who want to enter the world of THE DARKNESS. Following a trail of blood that leads to a forest bordering her father's estate, Hope encounters all manner of monsters, sprung to life out of her favorite fairy tales — and the immortal forces known as the Ancient Ones.

And as the true extent of her powers begins to manifest, Hope starts to wonder if she is the scariest creature in the deep, dark woods.

Written by David Hine (THE BULLETPROOF COFFIN, STORM DOGS) and drawn by Jeremy Haun, Hope's story will widen the universe of THE DARKNESS even further, asking what role a girl coming of age will play in the eternal struggle of the forces Light and Darkness.

THE DARKNESS #112 will be in stores on April 10, to be followed by the second half of Hope's story in #113 in stores in May.

This May, Image Comics forces you to wonder why we keep pushing this silly comic book over and over again in a new adjective-laden comic called– THE ALL-NEW SECRET SKULLKICKERS!
 
“We can’t stop now. It... it has a life of its own. This reboot-itis has permeated our souls,” said Image PR and Marketing Director Jennifer de Guzman. “I hated it at first but now it feels kind of good. Warm... safe... In a darkened world full of uncertainty it’s all we have left.”
 
THE ALL-NEW SECRET SKULLKICKERS #1, written by promotional broken record Jim Zub and drawn by innocent mp3 Edwin Huang, continues the epic six-arc SKULLKICKERS storyline on a haunted island of mystery, apes and rampant violence. It’s good.
 
“At this rate I figure we’re still a couple months away from using up any goodwill I might have built up in this industry,” said series creator Jim Zub. “This is the kind of thing that can happen when you let creators write their own press releases.”
 
If you’re a diehard collector of SKULLKICKERS who’s sad that you won’t have a SKULLKICKERS #22 to add to your collection, fret no longer. In addition to the regular “All-New Secret” cover we’re offering a special “issue #22 variant” B cover to make sure your numbers stay in order. You can tell everyone you started reading “before they became horrible sell-outs.”
 
We’re sick. We can’t help it. Comic price guide makers will curse this stupid string of title changes for the rest of their natural lives. THE ALL-NEW SECRET SKULLKICKERS #1 will be available in May wherever fine comics are sold. Pre-order it now from the March issue of Previews and stop the hurting.

From Nathan Edmondson (DANCER, THE ACTIVITY) and newcomer Konstantin Novosadov comes THE DREAM MERCHANT, a sci-fi series from Image Comics, about Winslow, a troubled mental patient in his late teens. Winslow suffers from a recurring dream that grows more intense every night — and when he discovers its true meaning, the world will literally change.

A friend's comment led Edmondson to contemplate the idea behind THE DREAM MERCHANT. "I started thinking about dreams as something one could exchange, and trade," he said, in a mini-interview at the Image Comics blog, "which eventually yielded the idea behind Winslow's dream."

The task of depicting Winslow's dreamscapes, as well as the dreariness of his ordinary life, is in the hands of talented Russian artist Novsadov. His impressionistic, color-washed style is a perfect complement to Edmondson's story of the mysteries of dream life and fantasy.

Volume I of THE DREAM MERCHANT is a six-issue, full-color miniseries. The first issue (MAR130450) will be in stores May 15 and will be available for pre-order from the March issue of Previews. Readers who want a sneak peek in advance are invited to submit their dreams to a special Tumblr site, dreamshavemeaning.tumblr.com.

He's young, he's fit, he's got a gal who's interested — and he's superpowered. Jasper Jenkins, star of the new superhero Image Comics series THE BOUNCE by Joe Casey (BUTCHER BAKER THE RIGHTEOUS MAKER, SEX) and David Messina, pretty much has everything going for him. Why complicate things by taking things too seriously? Jasper's about to embark on the greatest trip he's ever known, and he's going to ride it all the way...!

Described by Casey as a "slacker superhero comic for the 21st century," THE BOUNCE gets underway in May with dynamic art, acrobatics, and an unabashed love of fun.

"As a storyteller, you pose the question, 'What would it be like if you were a typical guy in your early 20's and you had superpowers?' and then you try to answer it honestly," Casey related in a mini-interview posted on the Image Comics blog.

With a nod toward Spider-Man's innovative, early days and Invincible's origin era, Casey has added something all his own to the superhero mix with the mature-rated THE BOUNCE, hinting, "Sometimes the idea of 'fun' can get a little heady... as it does right off the bat in issue #1."

THE BOUNCE is a full color, ongoing series. Issue #1 will be in stores on May 22. It will be available for pre-order from the March issue of Previews (MAR130444).

The world is ending. Humanity's final judgment is at hand, and the only hope for us is in the harbingers of our destruction: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

This March, the new Image Comics series EAST OF WEST, a dystopian western by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta, will cast readers into a broken future where the world's most powerful men and women are working together to manufacture the end of the Earth.

"East of West is a story about that feeling we're experiencing collectively right now, as a society, that the world is in a bit of a spiral," said Hickman in an interview at Previews World. "You know, the end times are imminent and we all hate each other too much to come together and solve our problems.... And then, in the face of all that despair and gloom, somehow there is still hope. That's East of West."

The Four Horseman aren't exactly Biblical — Hickman describes them as "scary adolescents," and their goal is to take a series of actions that will eventually domino into apocalypse. In the face of this, the question of who will stand against them is one of the many mysteries and shocking revelations of EAST OF WEST.

Hickman's collaborator, artist Dragotta, whom Hickman calls "Probably the most expressive artist I've had the pleasure of working with," has also worked with him on Marvel's Fantastic Four and FF. His intricate pages capture dusty wastelands and cramped cityscapes, as well as the varied inhabitants of EAST OF WEST's apocalyptic world.

EAST OF WEST is a full-color, ongoing series starting on March 27, 2013. Issue #1 (JAN130468) and #2 (FEB130440) are available for pre-order now in the January issue of Previews. A promotional poster will arrive in comic book stores on February 27.