Image Comics

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

He can save the day with nothing more than a paperclip and a chocolate bar, but how will he fare with ink and staples? Yes, MacGyver is back —in a fast-paced comic book mini-series co-written by his creator, Lee David Zlotoff and published by Image Comics. The first MacGyver story since the television show ended in 1992 kicks off on October 10 with the first issue of MACGYVER: FUGITIVE GAUNTLET.

The series, co-written by Tony Lee (Doctor Who, Hope Falls) and drawn by Will Sliney (Farscape), with covers by Andie Tong (Superman, TRON),  picks up Mac's story as he gets tangled in a web of industrial espionage and murder. On the run across the globe, Mac has to escape his pursuers—which won't be easy with a million-dollar bounty on his head!

"I've been a fan of the TV show since I was a kid, and whenever I was asked what my dream project would be at conventions, only one name ever came up," said Tony Lee. Some discussions and a meeting with his manager later, Lee was Skyping with MacGyver creator Zlotoff.

The more he thought about the medium of comics, the more the idea appealed to him, Zlotoff explained. “In the last decade or so, the graphic novel and comics arena has simply exploded in terms of both the kinds of stories that are being told and the range of artistic styles now being explored. So as I considered the constant call from fans around the world to bring MacGyver back, it struck me that the simplicity and directness of comics might be the perfect place to start.”

The result? A five-issue mini-series that ups the ante for the eponymous hero, taking him to far-off places and embroiling him in trouble that only MacGyver could escape.

"The biggest issue the TV show had was budget, and comics don't have that problem," said Tony Lee. "We have MacGyver traveling to African jungles, Cairo, even Moscow in a globe-trotting adventure that—short of a big budget feature film—could never have been done before in such scale and scope."

In addition to a story full of thrills and twists, MACGYVER will contain the history of the television show's creation in the issues' backmatter, written by MACGYVER creator Lee David Zlotoff.

MACGYVER: FUGITIVE GAUNTLET #1 (AUG120462) will be in stores on October 10 and is available for pre-order now. Co-writer Tony Lee talked to Comic Book Resources about the mini-series in an interview posted in July.

Murder on an alien world and four uniquely talented individuals meet at the heart of the mystery of STORM DOGS, a new series by David Hine (THE BULLETPROOF COFFIN, THE DARKNESS, STRANGE EMBRACE) and Doug Braithwaite (Justice, Punisher, Journey Into Mystery). When a series of bizarre, violent deaths take place on the planet Amaranth, a team of investigators embarks on a journey that will show each member what it means to be a stranger in a strange land— and remind them what it is to be human.

The team is led by Cassandra Burroughs, who writer Hine describes as "delicate-looking but as tough as nails." By contrast, military expert Siam Locke is “built like a weightlifter, but hides a complex and sensitive soul beneath her muscle.” Diplomat Masika Zenda is the cultural expert whose task is to ease relations with the indigenous Elohi, while forensic scientist Jered Hofman is the wild card—"passionate about life, love, sex and criminal pathology.”

"The protected status of the native Elohi means the team has to work without the benefits of advanced technology," explained Hine. "The tension intensifies when their investigations begin to reveal that everyone has something to hide."

For artist Braithwaite, the book presents some unique challenges with the creation of an entire alien planet “from the flora and fauna, to the cast of incomers and the environment they bring with them, like a blot on the landscape.”

Above all there are the native Elohi, who are silent observers of the unfolding events. “Their dignity had to be conveyed in their statuesque and composed manner, and their culture has to be apparent through the visuals as opposed to being verbally described to the reader," said Braithwaite.

As much a part of the book as the human team and the Elohi is the exotic setting of Amaranth itself. "The natural environment the events take place in is strange and at times forbidding, but it has its own alien beauty," said Braithwaite.

"Amaranth is intriguing, unfathomable and only gives up its secrets for a heavy price," said Hine. "We’re working hard to create a convincing alien world from the ground up, without losing sight of characterization and a plot that has all the twists you would expect from a science-fiction murder mystery."

"Season One" of STORM DOGS is a six-issue monthly mini-series, starting on November 7. STORM DOGS #1 (SEPT120398) is available for pre-order now. Writer and co-creator Hine spoke to Newsarama about STORM DOGS in an interview posted on the comics site on September 11.

In October, readers will get a chance to see a little piece of Sina Grace's own personal hell in NOT MY BAG, a new original graphic novel coming from Image Comics on October 10.

Grace is the artist on the indie comics cult hit THE LI'L DEPRESSED BOY, written by S. Steven Struble, and was editor of Robert Kirkman's comics until stepping down to pursue a full-time art career. In NOT MY BAG, he chronicles the six months of his life that he spent as a sales associate in an upscale department store. Grace tries to cater to both customers' taste and the demands of his management, all while the ghosts of relationships past haunt him and his artistic dreams wait for the bills to be paid.

"Not My Bag is a celebration of all of my passions: comic books, fashion, and the gothic genre," said Grace.  "Image Comics sees what I see in this book, and I'm excited to share something that is my unabashed love letter to funny books... by way of retail hell."

In advance support of his graphic novel, Grace has done interviews with the L.A. Times and Comic Book Resources, and pieces will also be running in The Hollywood Reporter and Newsarama. A preview of NOT MY BAG appears in THE WALKING DEAD #101.

A 96-page, black-and-white graphic novel, NOT MY BAG (AUG120476) will be in stores on October 10. It is available for pre-order now from the August issue of Previews.

Jim Zub's SKULLKICKERS is a cult hit, thanks to its hilarious writing, vibrant art, and, well, ample skull-kicking. The Image title has so much monster-bashing and face-smashing that it simply can't be expressed by one creative team. So, with SKULLKICKERS #18, some of independent comics' best and brightest will be pitching in with stories of their own in the latest "Tavern Tales" issue, a collection of short stories.

Included in the mix are John Layman and Rob Guillory (CHEW), Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore (THE STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE), Blair Butler (HEART), Charles Soule (27), and J. Torres (Teen Titans Go!, Batman: The Brave and the Bold).

The spotlight is on Aubrey Sitterson and Ivan Anya, however — the creative team won the SKULLKICKERS Tavern Tales contest and will have their short story featured in SKULLKICKERS #18.

"We put out the call to fans of Skullkickers or any creative comic creators at all — submit your Skullkickers short story ideas or submit a two-page sample of artwork based on a sample script we had posted at www.skullkickers.com," explained series creator and writer Zub. "With over 300 entries, it was incredibly difficult narrowing it down to one writer and one artist, but in the end Aubrey Sitterson and Ivan Anya popped to the top of their respective groups and their short story collaboration is going to knock people out!"

Sidle up to the bar, order an ale, and get ready to hear some tall tales! SKULLKICKERS #18 (JUL120516) will be in stores on September 26 and can be pre-ordered now.

As announced at San Diego Comic Con, Image Comics and Top Cow Productions will release their first-ever exclusively-digital graphic novel, MANIFESTATIONS this August through comiXology.

MANIFESTATIONS, created, written and drawn by critically acclaimed author Raffaele Ienco (DEVOID OF LIFE, EPIC KILL), is a self-contained full color supernatural thriller.

Alice Rackham is a quiet shy girl of ten who, within her tiny frame, holds a powerful secret... if she concentrates hard enough she can reach into "the dark place" and return the spirits she finds there back to the land of the living. Sometimes, it's a recently passed loved one or pet she finds... but other times it's something horrible... something that doesn't belong among the living. Something that wants to take Alice and her mother to the darkness of the grave... forever!

“I’m a big fan of supernatural thrillers like The Sixth Sense, so I really wanted to create a graphic novel with great twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing, where you don’t want to put the book down because you just want to read one more page,” said creator Ienco.

In addition to the digital comic, Top Cow and Content House are currently co-developing MANIFESTATIONS as a feature film.

“What I love about Raff’s work on Manifestations is that he has created these great characters that I truly care about and then he constantly puts them in situations where I have no idea how they are going to survive,”  said Josh Morris of Content House.

"With Manifestations Raffaele tells a dark tale but it unravels in an inspiring, hopeful way," added Top Cow President Matt Hawkins. "I'm a huge fan of Ienco's work on Epic Kill and am really excited to be working with the guys at Content House on this project."

MANIFESTATIONS is a 126-page full color OGN for #4.99 and will be exclusively sold online exclusively at comiXology, starting on August 29.

In reality, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a huge vortex of tiny plastic particles, but in the public imagination — and in the new Image Comics series GREAT PACIFIC by Joe Harris (Ghost Projekt, The Fury of Firestorm) and Martín Morazzo — it is an island of trash. Starting in November, Harris and Morazzo create a whole world from this image — a world ripe for conquest.

In GREAT PACIFIC, Chas Worthington, the twenty-three-year-old heir to the world's biggest oil fortune, takes on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, leaving his privileged life to try to make a difference in the world.

"Chas has a noble heart, but human frailties," said writer Harris of GREAT PACIFIC's protagonist. "He wants to solve this massive environmental problem but he's going to do it his way and by his rules. He doesn't just mean to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. He means to conquer it."

In drawing this world of detritus where Chas contends with, as Harris describes them, "the elements and hostile tribes indigenous to the surrounding area, marine life that's been mutated by the pollution, pirates and even the United States' Navy," Morazzo has taken on a hefty challenge.

"The Patch itself becomes a character throughout the story, along with the strange new inhabitants that come to live both atop it, and under its surface!" said Morazzo. "I love just letting myself go while drawing the trash continent. It's a lot of work, but in some ways it is relaxing too!"

The creative team hopes to get readers' heart rates up as they follow Chas's struggle to conquer and hold this new frontier.

"This isn't just some preachy call for conservation and recycling," said Harris. "With GREAT PACIFIC, I'm out to tell a pulse-pounding story of survival and adventure."

"I love how the story develops," Morazzo added. "Joe has me always wondering what's next."

GREAT PACIFIC is a full-color, monthly series debuting on November 7. Its first issue (SEP120391) is available for pre-order in the September issue of Previews.

In the world of COMEBACK by Ed Brisson and Michael Walsh, the new mini-series coming from Image Comics/Shadowline in November, death isn't necessarily inescapable. The secret organization Reconnect sends agents back in time to rescue people moments before their untimely deaths, reversing tragedy and reuniting lost loved ones with their families. Mark is one of these agents, and despite the seeming good of what he's doing, he discovers there is a dark side to saving the dead.

"Mark does this job because it's fairly easy and pays well. Although it's illegal, he justifies it to himself because he's helping people," said writer Brisson. "He's pushed to do some things that go counter to his own beliefs and is stuck with the moral dilemma of breaking his own code of ethics or dying."

In COMEBACK's science fictional world, the role of wealth plays an ever-increasingly important role.

"I wanted to treat mortality as a commodity," explained Brisson. "Everyone is still mortal. Everyone dies. But, for the rich, life becomes something that can be extended for the right amount of money. While there are limitations on who can be saved from a premature death, it's still only the wealthy who are able to afford the luxury of bringing back their gone-to-soon loved ones."

Mark sees the problems this inequality creates first-hand as his partner, Seth becomes obsessed with his own mortality and begins using Reconnect's time-travel capabilities for financial gain. When Seth's activities risk exposing Reconnect, agents like himself and Mark find themselves in danger of being exposed along with it.

COMEBACK is a full-color, five-issue monthly mini-series debuting on November 21. Writer Brisson is best known for his work as a comics letterer and his online comic Murder Book, on which he has collaborated with several artists, including COMEBACK artist Walsh.