Image Comics

Taking his cue from the characters in his new mini-series, Brandon Graham (KING CITY, PROPHET) is embarking on a cross-country trip to promote MULTIPLE WARHEADS: ALPHABET TO INFINITY with signings at comic book stores from October 24 through 27.

Coming together to promote the signing tour are retailers from California to North Carolina who wanted to show their support for Graham's surreal science fiction comic about organ smugglers in a fanciful, futuristic Russia.

The tour kicks off in Anaheim, California at Beach Ball Comics on October 24, treks to Texas for a signing at Austin Books on October 25, lands in St. Louis for a signing at Star Clipper on October 26, and wraps at Chapel Hill Comics in North Carolina on October 27. (Click here for complete schedule details.)

All four stores on the tour will have an exclusive edition of the 48-page, full-color MULTIPLE WARHEADS #1 with a wraparound variant cover by Graham, for $3.99.

MULTIPLE WARHEADS: ALPHABET TO INFINITY is a four-issue, full-color miniseries that places ordinary lives in an extraordinary setting. Its first issue has garnered advance praise:

"...anything is possible in this comic. This is creativity unleashed. This is an artist unhinged. This is freedom. This is authenticity. And this is where comics should live."
    - MTV Geek

"Full of that trademark Brandon Graham ambition (Grahambition?), it's a comic that's wonderfully, strange, fantastically designed, and ultimately worthy of the time and effort it takes to read. It's a text that demands the reader work with it while taking an artful approach to world building. It's a comic that's as much about the mystery of what comes next as it is about what's happening right now.  Every page is an adventure, and every turn the plot takes is unexpected.  That's the beauty of Multiple Warheads #1."
    - The Outhousers

A two-part interview with Graham about MULTIPLE WARHEADS also ran at Comics Alliance in August.

Comic book creators Matt Fraction (CASANOVA, Avengers vs. X-Men, The Invincible Iron Man) and Chip Zdarsky (Prison Funnies, Monster Cops) invite you to come with them as they release SEX CRIMINALS through Image Comics in 2013. This brand-spanking new sex comedy follows two young lovers as they go on a lust-fueled crime spree with a twist -- when they have sex, time itself seems to stop. Set in a world where the laws of time and space are as dubious and mutable as the laws of man and society, SEX CRIMINALS promises to scandalize, titillate, and provoke when it bursts onto the comics scene next year.

“Not to toot our own horns, but there’s never been a comic book like Sex Criminals before,” Fraction tossed off. “There’ve been comedy books with sex, or sex comics with comedic moments, but no book with ‘sex comedy’ as its narrative thrust. Hard to imagine, but comedy and sex, which fit together so naturally literally everywhere else in the entertainment world, don’t get done in comic books. Chip and I are thrilled to be the first ones in there to plant our seed.”

Zdarsky, legendary cartoonist for National Post and impish Canadian prankster, topped that statement: “This project brings together my two loves: crime and an in-depth exploration of the Western banking system and its ill-effects on society. I’ve spent years working for newspapers and magazines and am looking forward to completing my ‘dying industry trifecta’ and give comic books my all while holding back the tears.”

Fraction and Zdarsky, having searched long and hard for the perfect collaboration, knew they were destined for each other if only the right project came along. “Chip is a singular creator in the world of comics: he’s smart, he’s talented, he has an eye unlike any other, and he makes me laugh like a jackal,” Fraction spewed forth. “He’s like a smutty Day-Glo Will Elder that spells words with u’s where they don’t belong and uses the metric system. I’m excited to think the words ‘SEX CRIMINALS’ will now appear in his obituary later this year.”

Zdarsky gushed “There’s a very short list of people who I would want to work with on a comic project and Matt Fraction is at the top of that list. I love the humour he brings to his projects and always thought he should do something all-out funny, because, frankly, there aren’t enough funny books out there since Identity Crisis. No wait. Was Blankets before or after Identity Crisis?”

Image Comics was unavailable for comment.

An ongoing comic series that puts the comic back in comics, and the sexy back into sex crime, SEX CRIMINALS comes in 32 full-color pages for a cover price of $3.50.

DEAR DRACULA, a graphic novel for kids published by the Image Comics imprint Shadowline, has been adapted into an animated feature for Cartoon Network. The hour-long feature will air on October 16 at 7 p.m. (ET, PT) as part of Cartoon Network's "Spooky Specials" Halloween programming.

A scarily sweet story of a young boy named Sam who loves horror films and vampires so much that he writes to Dracula for Christmas instead of Santa Claus, DEAR DRACULA was written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Vicente "Vinny" Navarrete. Sam gets an unexpected reply to his letter when Dracula himself shows up on his doorstep, ready to make Sam's dream of being a vampire come true.

Giving voice to DEAR DRACULA is a cast of well-known Hollywood veterans as well as breakout young actors:

Ray Liotta as Dracula
Nathan Gamble (Dolphin Tale) as Sam
Ariel Winters (Modern Family) as Emma
Emilio Estevez as Renfield
Marion Ross (Happy Days) as Grandma

The DEAR DRACULA animated feature is produced by Kickstart Productions (Voltron Force, Wolverine and the X-Men, The Amazing Screw-On Head), with a screenplay by Brad Birch (Johnny Test).

DEAR DRACULA by Joshua Williamson and Vicente "Vinny" Navarrete is a 48-page, full-color hardcover graphic novel for $7.99. Its ISBN is 978-1-58240-970-2. It was released in 2008 and received glowing reviews:

"This 48-page hardcover should find a permanent place in a child’s library. It’s especially satisfying for a youngster who loves classic monsters, Halloween and cheese."
-The Washington Times

"Dracula is presented as a kindly grownup, and all the horror elements are played strictly for laughs, so even younger children are unlikely to find the book too scary. Behind the scenes is a subtle lesson about learning about and respecting others’ differences, but the creators wisely avoid hitting the reader on the head with an obvious moral."
-The Graphic Novel Reporter

"This book is a rarity: a well-crafted, beautifully illustrated all-ages love letter to a horror icon. It deserves a place in everyone's library."
-Comics in the Classroom

WHO IS JAKE ELLIS?, the Image Comics series by Nathan Edmondson and Tonči Zonjić received an Eisner Award nomination for Best Limited Series. And now the taut, intense thriller that explores identity and consciousness is back with a much-anticipated sequel.

WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS?, a new series starting in November, delves deeper in the mystery of Jake Ellis and how he became linked to super-spy Jon Moore's consciousness. In WHO IS JAKE ELLIS?, Jake and Jon infiltrated "The Facility," where Jon was transformed from a CIA analyst into a field agent who can predict almost every move of his targets—thanks to Jake Ellis, a man who can see everything but whom only Jon can see.

The second JAKE ELLIS volume picks up a year after the end of the first, with Jon Moore in hiding from his past—and The Facility. But these are the people who created him—and Jake Ellis—and they won't be an easy tail to shake. Soon Jon is in their crosshairs once again, and he will need Jake Ellis to survive. Now Jon has two missions: stop The Facility, and find a man that no one else can see.

Nathan Edmondson is pleased to return to the world of JAKE ELLIS. "Tonci and I had more story in mind when we conceived WHO IS JAKE ELLIS?, and this is it," he said.

Zonjić's art on JAKE ELLIS perfectly balances mood and action, color and shadow, creating environments and characters that are deceptively simple and all the more effective because of it.

"We've grown together as creators," continued Edmondson. "And we're more than thrilled to walk Jon Moore and Jake Ellis back into the pages of an Image Comics book and into the hands of readers."

WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS is a five-issue, full-color mini-series. The first issue (SEP120405) will be in stores on November 14 and is available for pre-order now from the September issue of Previews. The creators invite readers to follow them on Twitter at @NHEdmondson and @tozozozo.

Dade Ellis, Simon Grimshaw, Emerson Strange, and Thomas Walker were the Fab Four of science, ushering in a new boom in scientific advancement as the research group World Corp. They changed the world and became the most celebrated scientists of all time, but somewhere along the way, it all went wrong.

Welcome to the new Age of Enlightenment. Welcome to NOWHERE MEN, an all-new Image Comics series by Eric Stephenson (LONG HOT SUMMER) and Nate Bellegarde (BRIT, INVINCIBLE PRESENTS: ATOM EVE & REX SPLODE), with colors by Jordie Bellaire (THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS) and design by Fonografiks (SAGA, THE STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE), debuting in November.

NOWHERE MEN marks Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson's return to the writer's chair to tell a story he's been burning to write.

"For years, I've been fascinated by the notion of a world where science shaped our culture in a similar way to popular music back in the 1960s," explained Stephenson. "We've seen hints of that world in film and television, but I've always wondered what burden being at the forefront of that kind of cultural revolution would carry. The Beatles fell apart at the end of the '60s – if science did actually supplant rock 'n' roll, how would the trailblazers of that movement fare? And if an individual like Steve Jobs could have such a profound impact on society, what would happen if a group of equally brilliant minds joined together with a common cause?"

Stephenson added: "I've been working on this for a number of years, but the timing just seemed right given that this year is Image's 20th anniversary, and Image Comics itself represented a bold shift in thinking that, in many ways, changed comics forever. It's not a coincidence that the business model established by the Image founders not only allows, but encourages someone like me to share my own creativity."

NOWHERE MEN is brought to punk-rock pop-art life by Nate Bellegarde whose meticulously detailed style previously graced Robert Kirkman's BRIT and INVINCIBLE PRESENTS: ATOM EVE & REX SPLODE. 

"NOWHERE MEN gives me the chance to illustrate the gleaming, unfulfilled promise of 'yesterday's tomorrow, today,'" said Bellegarde. "I get to bring life to intricate characters and really sink my teeth into the sci-fi genre, taking the best influences from classic sci-fi films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien and groundbreaking comics visions like Enki Bilal's Nikopol Trilogy, Geof Darrow's work on Hard Boiled and Frank Quitely's run on All-Star Superman to create a vivid, idyllic new world that is as much of a thrill to draw as it is to dream about."

THE WALKING DEAD creator and Image Comics partner Robert Kirkman added: "One of the things I love about Eric Stephenson is he can talk the talk and walk the walk. The best thing about being an Image partner is having a stake in a company that facilitates the creative vision of people who have unique things to say. I love that our Publisher isn't just some suit, but a creative guy whose work can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best the industry has to offer. That's what makes Image different from everybody else: We're in it because we love the creativity of comics. I can't wait to read this comic every month."

NOWHERE MEN is a full-color ongoing series making its debut on November 21. Priced at only $2.99, each issue is 32 pages and 100% advertisement-free. The first issue (SEP120393) is available for pre-order in the September issue of Previews. For anyone interested in getting a sneak peek at Stephenson's and Bellegarde's brave new world, check out the three-page teaser in the back of THE WALKING DEAD #102 (AUG128248), on sale now.

In December, Image Comics will publish the first issue of MARA, a new series by acclaimed writer Brian Wood and brilliant up-and-coming artist Ming Doyle. In a hyper-technological future where sports, war, and celebrity are the world's obsessions, no one is more famous than Mara Prince. A model and athlete regarded as a paragon, Mara rises to an untouchable height of fame when she manifests superpowers on live television.

For Wood (Northlanders, Conan the Barbarian, DMZ), the connection between athlete and superhero is a natural one. "For a while I've seen a connection between superstar athletes and superheroes, both superficially and also in how each can be portrayed and dissected, lauded, and demonized by the societies they serve," he said, adding that the pressure to perform perfectly can be tremendous for young athletes. "Mara deals with a superstar female athlete who commits this very 'sin' of not being perfect, and finds herself facing down the worst of what we can throw at a vulnerable young woman. "

In the society Wood imagines in MARA, physical prowess "is not just expected, its mandatory.  Society celebrates perfection and personal achievement," he explained. "In one day Mara will go from being the absolute example of this to betraying it all completely."

Mara's transformation and the futuristic world that explodes elements of our own society into a more extreme scale are in keeping with the iconoclastic, rebellious protagonists and possible futures that Wood is renowned for in works like Channel Zero (originally published by Image in 1997), DMZ, and The Couriers (a collection of which will also be published by Image Comics in November). But while the societies in his earlier works are crumbling, in MARA, the world is at the height of decadence that precedes inevitable decay.

Bringing this world to life with her art is Doyle (Girl Comics, Mystery in Space, Adventure Time: Marceline Scream Queens). "Mara exists in a society where personality is productized and even the minutest actions are instantaneously uploaded, circulated, and examined," said Doyle. "I feel that in both the broad strokes of ultra-sized stadiums and the small touches like social media enabled microphones and eye-in-the-sky blimps, we're building a stage for Mara that's both expansive and claustrophobic."

Bringing color to Doyle's pencils and inks is Jordie Bellaire, whose work on THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS, Doctor Strange, and The Rocketeer have made her one of comics' most sought-after colorists.

MARA is a six-issue mini-series, debuting on December 26. It is available for pre-order in the October issue of Previews. An exclusive advance preview and interview with the creators appeared in USA Today on September 12. Wood and Doyle were also interviewed at Comics Alliance in March, when their collaboration was first announced.

Felicia Castro, the protagonist of the new Image Comics series I LOVE TROUBLE by Kel Symons and Mark Robinson, debuting in December, doesn't have much going for her. A New Orleans grifter on the run from a mobster, Felicia has to flee the Big Easy to hide out in the Midwest. Then her plane crashes.

Instead of it being the end for the Felicia, the crash turns out to be a new beginning. Felicia discovers she has the ability to teleport, a power she thinks will be an easy fix to all of her problems. But Felicia is someone who follows trouble, and her power opens up a whole new world of crime and exploitation.

"I imagine her as someone who was always on the run from one thing or another in her life — came from a broken home, had terrible experiences with relationships — and when things got bad she just picked up and left," said writer Symons. "So the idea of teleportation fed into that."

The premise of Felicia's power being tied with her personality was what artist Robinson said won him over. "Kel's ideas were crisp and sharp," said Robinson. "The book is supposed to be more about the person than the power. Kel's scripts leave me a lot of room to do my thing visually, which I am grateful for."

The breathing room has allowed Robinson to shine, said Symons. "There's a uniqueness to what Mark's doing — you can just see he's working on another level, that he takes what's in a script and finds something you didn't even realize was there and runs with it."

Robinson names Will Eisner as one of his primary influences in drawing I LOVE TROUBLE. "It's not a superhero story, yet it needs to capture the same excitement and sense of the fantastic that Eisner puts into his work," he said. "I want people to see the characters do things in this book that puts them right in the middle of a scene from their own life."

Symons was a producer of The Dungeon Masters, a documentary about Dungeons and Dragons players, and also produced and directed the documentary Excavating the 2000-Year-Old Man. He was involved, as a development executive, in the film adaptation of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novel The Sum of All Fears. He also developed the feature films Sahara and Invictus. I LOVE TROUBLE is his first comic book series.

Robinson has been drawing comics professionally since 2001 and is best known for his work on the IDW series Storm Shadow and the Marvel series Hulk and Skrull Kill Krew.

I LOVE TROUBLE is a full-color, ongoing comic book series. Its first issue will be in stores on December 5 and is available for pre-order in the December issue of Previews.

Image Comics will be at New York Comic Con in full force, with top creators signing and must-have exclusives at their booth in the Javits Center during the October 11-14 convention. In addition, the New York Comic Con programming schedule features ten Image Comics-related panels with discussions both wide-ranging and craft-focused.

The Image creators who will be signing exclusives at the Image Comics booth (#1229):

Robert Kirkman (NYCC Spotlight Guest) — NYCC Exclusive red foil-stamped THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOLUME ONE hardcover (limited to 1500) and THIEF OF THIEVES VOLUME ONE: "I QUIT!" hardcover (limited to 1000)
Brian K. Vaughan (NYCC Spotlight Guest) and Fiona Staples (NYCC Featured Guest)— NYCC Exclusive SAGA bookplate (limited to 200, included with purchase of SAGA VOLUME ONE)
Jonathan Hickman (NYCC Spotlight Guest) — NYCC Exclusive THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS VOLUME ONE: SCIENCE, BAD hardcover (limited to 500)
Tim Seeley  — NYCC Exclusive Stjepan Sejic WITCHBLADE #160 variant (limited to 1000)
Ron Marz (NYCC Special Guest)— NYCC Exclusive Stjepan Sejic ARTIFACTS #21 variant (limited to 1000)
Joe Harris (NYCC Special Guest) — NYCC Exclusive GREAT PACIFIC #1 variant (limited to 500)
Nick Spencer — NYCC Exclusive BEDLAM #1 variant (limited to 500)

These exclusive ashcans will be available at the creators' Artist Alley tables:

Jim Zub (NYCC Special Guest) — NYCC Exclusive SKULLKICKERS #18 sketch cover variant, available at Artist Alley table #W11 (limited to 100)
Ed Brisson and Michael Walsh — NYCC Exclusive COMEBACK #1 ashcan, available at Artist Alley table #Q18B
Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore — NYCC Exclusive THE LEGEND OF LUTHER STRODE ashcan, available at Artist Alley table #BB15

Other Image creators signing at the booth include:

Grant Morrison (NYCC Spotlight Guest) (HAPPY!)
Howard Chaykin (BLACK KISS II)
Glen Brunswick and Whilce Portacio (NYCC Featured Guest) (NON-HUMANS)
Alex de Campi (NYCC Special Guest) and Christine Larsen (VALENTINE)
Jay Faerber (POINT OF IMPACT, NEAR DEATH)
Sina Grace (NOT MY BAG)
Jeremy Haun (THE DARKNESS)
Matt Hawkins (THINK TANK, CYBER FORCE)
David Hine (NYCC Featured Guest) (THE BULLETPROOF COFFIN, THE DARKNESS)
Jason Howard (NYCC Featured Guest) (SUPER DINOSAUR)
Shawn Martinbrough (THIEF OF THIEVES)
Jim McCann and Rodin Esquejo (MIND THE GAP)
Ben McCool and Ben Templesmith (PIGS, CHOKER)
Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder (NYCC Featured Guest) (HALLOWEEN EVE)
Scott Snyder (NYCC Spotlight Guest), Scott Tuft, and Attilla Futaki (SEVERED);
Christian Weiser, Tony Trov, and Johnny Zito (D.O.G.S. OF MARS)
Lee David Zlotoff and Will Sliney (MACGYVER)

A full, updated Image Comics signing schedule will be released before the convention. Please note that signings and exclusives are subject to change.

The Image Comics programming at NYCC will feature a one-on-one conversations with THE WALKING DEAD creator and Image partner Robert Kirkman, a SAGA panel with creative team Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, panels on craft with writers and artists, discussions of science fiction and gender issues, as well as the highly anticipated "The Image Comics Experience" panel, where attendees will be the first to hear new Image Comics announcements.

The full listing of Image Comics NYCC programming follows.

This year's CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL anthology, benefiting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and published by Image Comics, declares "It's good to be free!" Edited by Image Publisher Eric Stephenson, the 48-page anthology to be released on October 31 features short stories by some of comics' hottest creators.

Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard contribute an all-new story about THE WALKING DEAD arch-villain The Governor, who will be making his debut in the television series this season. The anthology also features incredible stories by Howard Chaykin, Kieron Gillen, Jim McCann, Terry Moore, Chris Roberson, James Robinson, and more! Eye-popping art by stars like Michael Allred, Chynna Clugston-Flores, Janet Lee, and Ben Templesmith completes this celebration of comics and free speech. In addition, previews of two upcoming Image comics—STORM DOGS by David Hine and Doug Braithwaite and THE SAVIORS by James Robinson and J. Bone—will be included.

The anthology features an "A" cover by Gabriel Bá (Casanova, The Umbrella Academy) (AUG120468), a "B" cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson (Harley Quinn, Trouble, Defenders) (AUG120469), and a "C" cover by Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels, G-MAN) (AUG128005).

All proceeds from the CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL 2012 will benefit the important First Amendment legal work of the CBLDF, a non-profit group dedicated to protecting the free speech of the comics community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers. It is available for pre-order now.

Here is the complete list of creative teams (Writer and Artist; one name indicates creator both writes and draws the story):

Howard Chaykin and Sina Grace
Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard
Chris Roberson and Roger Langridge
Jonathan Hickman
Terry Moore
Richard Starkings and Ian Churchill
David Hine and Doug Braithwaite
Joe Keatinge and Chynna Clugston-Flores
Kieron Gillen and Nate Belllegarde
Brandon Graham
Chris Giarrusso
James Asmus and Takeshi Miyazawa
James Robinson and J. Bone
Jim McCann and Janet Lee
Andy Diggle and Ben Templesmith