comic book

Here Comes the Judge

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Here Comes the Judge
IDW and 2000 AD join forces to launch an all-new Judge Dredd comic-book series

IDW Publishing has partnered with 2000 AD to launch a line of Judge Dredd comics starting later this year.

Details and creative teams will be announced at a later date, but the partnership includes the creation of all-new Judge Dredd comics as well as deluxe reprints of classic Dredd material.

“Judge Dredd turns 35 this year, and it’s great to help him celebrate his birthday like this,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. “It was great to meet up with the 2000 AD team at the recent London Super Con and cement the partnership on this one. My interest in Judge Dredd far predates my tenure at IDW, so it’s a real drokkin’ pleasure for us to now be the first American publisher in 18 years to create new tales of Dredd.”

Judge Dredd was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, along with editor Pat Mills, and made his debut in the second issue of the science fiction anthology 2000 AD. He remains that title’s longest-running character and is one of the best-known British comic-book characters of all time.

“IDW are renowned for their ability to create new comics for existing characters with both respect and imagination,” said Jason Kingsley, CEO of Rebellion, “so we at Rebellion were intrigued when they approached us. Their familiarity with Dredd and passion for the character were vital components in making this partnership happen. With 2000 AD’s longest-serving, and multiple award-winning, editor Matt Smith working with IDW on establishing the new series, we’re delighted to make 2012 an even more spectacular year for Judge Dredd and 2000 AD.”

Dredd is the toughest Judge in Mega-City One, a city-state located on the East Coast of America and surrounded by radioactive wastelands in a dystopian future. With criminals, thugs and mutants swarming the streets, as judge, jury and executioner Judge Joseph Dredd delivers justice with exacting, and sometimes lethal, force.

In the character’s 35 years of existence, many of the biggest and best British comics creators have told his tales. 2012 also sees the release of a big-budget motion picture based on the lawman. Dredd stars Star Trek’s Karl Urban, who will be donning the helmet and wielding Dredd’s “Lawgiver” pistol.

IDW’s first Judge Dredd series will debut this fall. Until then, remember… he IS the law!

 

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Byrne and Wrightson strike again!

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John Byrne and Bernie Wrightson both return with new series!

 

 

IDW Publishing is ecstatic to announce new projects from legendary creators JOHN BYRNE and BERNIE WRIGHTSON!  This May, Byrne will be smashing into stands with a brand-new, creator-owned superhero series, TRIO.  TRIO follows the exploits of three super-powered heroes known as Rock, Paper, and Scissors on a series of explosive adventures!

Along the way, beloved inkers who have finished off Byrne’s pencils in the past will be inking variant covers for the series, starting with “Joltin’” Joe Sinnott on issue 1, and Byrne’s Silver Surfer/X-Men: The Hidden Years cohort Tom Palmer on #2.

“Trio really is Byrne’s return to superheroic form,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. Ryall will be editing Trio himself. He added that “fans who’ve loved Byrne at all stages of his career, from his beloved and influential superhero comics to his more recent work with us on Star Trek and Next Men, will love what he’s bringing to bear on this series.”

In FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE, ALIVE! Wrightson teams up with one of his greatest collaborators, STEVE NILES to continue the legacy of one of his greatest works.  This sequel to Wrightson’s acclaimed 1983 illustrated version of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein was scripted by Niles and will feature Wrightson’s inimitable brushwork in addition to heaps of engrossing supplemental material like interviews, essays, and a serialization of Shelley’s original work.

And just to show how thrilled we are about these new series, IDW is throwing its full weight behind TRIO and FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE, ALIVE! and making each debut issue fully returnable for retailers.

“Both Byrne and Wrightson are not only legends in the comics field,” Ryall said, “but they’re also doing work here that stacks up nicely alongside their very best comics from the past, and we want retailers to know we stand behind these books in a big way. Hopefully the returnability of the issues really speaks to how strongly we feel about these books being a good bet for comic shops.”

This May, join IDW in welcoming these iconoclasts back to genres they helped define and experience time-tested comics greatness firsthand!

Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

DANIEL JOHNSTON’S SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS FROM BOOM! TOWN IN APRIL

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BOOM! Town and Wieden + Kennedy Entertainment bring world-famous underground musician and artist Daniel Johnston to comics this April with his new graphic novel SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS.

A celebrated musician and recording artist with a 30-year career that includes over 20 albums — including covers by Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, Tom Waits, Beck, and TV on the Radio — Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” which won the Sundance Film Festival Director’s Award. His drawings and paintings have hung in art galleries and museums across the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art. Johnston rocketed to global notoriety in the early 1990s when album artwork from his “Hi, How Are You?” record was featured on a t-shirt worn by Kurt Cobain at the height of Nirvana’s exploding popularity.

SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS is Johnston’s debut graphic novel. Johnston, a long-time and dedicated fan of comic books, realizes his life-long dream of being a comic book artist with this release.

SPACE DUCKS is more than just a graphic novel, it’s a one-of-a-kind interactive comic book experience, complimented by the Space Ducks album and iOS App. The companion app will virtually take readers through Daniel’s Outer-Space world of Ducks and Devils, with games to play, surprising voices from different talents, animations and videos from the comic book, links to exciting new Space Ducks merchandise, and a slew of Easter eggs, including contributions from some of the critically-acclaimed musicians who number amongst Daniel’s biggest fans. The app will also debut Daniel Johnston’s first new album since 2009.

On March 13th, in Austin Texas, SPACE DUCKS launches at SXSW with a show and invite-only, launch party, including headliners Built to Spill, along with Daniel Johnston and many more.

“This is another instance of bringing it all back home for me personally because I’m a native of San Antonio and went to school in Austin,” says Ross Richie, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BOOM! Studios. “Daniel is a fixture of the central Texas music scene and an international symbol of the unique creativity the region offers. Getting a chance to work with a seminal voice like Daniel is exactly why I got into publishing in the first place.”

SPACE DUCKS follows a banner first year of publishing for BOOM! Studios’ lit comix imprint, BOOM! Town, which saw Shannon Wheeler win an Eisner Award for his work I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER. BOOM! Studios is enjoying back-to-back “Best Publisher” awards from Diamond Comic Distributors for 2009 and 2010.

SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS, written and drawn by Daniel Johnston, will ship this April. This title features 96 pages of story and carries a price point of $19.99 and a Diamond code of FEB120868.

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER—THE PROMISE PART 1 TOPS BOOKSCAN AT #1!

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In an amazing show of demand for Dark Horse’s newest graphic novel, Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 1 soared to the top of the Bookscan charts last week!

Written by Gene Luen Yang, author of the National Book Award-nominated American Born Chinese, Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 1 marks the continuation of Airbender and the link to its upcoming sequel, Legend of Korra!

Ever since the conclusion of Avatar: The Last Airbender, its millions of fans have been hungry for more–and it’s finally here!  This series rejoins Aang and friends for exciting new adventures, beginning with a faceoff against the Fire Nation that threatens to throw the world into another war, testing all of Aang’s powers and ingenuity!

Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 1 is a must-have for any Airbender fan! This is the latest release in an ongoing partnership between Nickelodeon and Dark Horse to bring you the very best in Airbender books.

Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 1 is on sale now!

Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 2 is on sale May 30th

BOOM! STUDIOS LAUNCHES FANBOYS VS ZOMBIES THIS APRIL

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ALL-NEW ORIGINAL ONGOING SERIES
FULL FIRST ISSUE
ONLY $1
CGC-graded HUMBERTO RAMOS 9.8 variant
only available 1-in-200!

When there is no more room in Hell, the undead shall take over Comic-Con! It’s every zombie fan’s wish fulfillment in comic book form this April in the epic new title from BOOM! Studios — FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES #1 written by indie sensation Sam Humphries (OUR LOVE IS REAL, SACRIFICE) with art by hot newcomer Jerry Gaylord! BOOM! Studios offers the first full 22-page issue of this brand new horror-comedy ongoing series for only $1!

A crew of feuding best friends find themselves trapped inside America’s largest comic convention transformed into a seething cauldron of zombies. Is a horde of starving brain-eaters any match against reflexes battle-hardened by video games, nerves tested by horror flicks, and courage crystallized by comic books? Find out as an unlikely band of nerds use their genre savvy to survive in Fanboys vs. Zombies!

“FVZ is the UFC of nerd battles,” says writer Sam Humphries. “Hall H is going to be turned into an action/horror/comedy abattoir. I’ve been going to San Diego Comic Con for ten years. Plenty of time to formulate a zombie apocalypse getaway AND a plan for total Comic Con devastation. It is going to be so on.”

“This is the real ‘Revenge of The Nerds’,” says BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon.  “It’s a fun story where nerds really do get to save the day. All the skills these characters have honed in the geek world finally get to be used in real life.”

“With the full first issue priced at only $1, you better grab your zombie escape plan and get down to your local comic shop!,” says BOOM! Studios Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ross Richie. “This is a book for everyone in the tradition of great zombie fiction like SHAUN OF THE DEAD!” Title ships in April with main covers in a 30/30/30/10 split by Humberto Ramos (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN), Alé Garza (FATHOM), Khary Randolph (NEW MUTANTS, SPAWN), and Matteo Scalera (DEADPOOL), a 1-in-25 wrap around “Where’s the zombie?” incentive by Ulises Farinas, a 1-in-50 sketch incentive by Humberto Ramos, and a 1-in-75 sketch incentive by Alé Garza.

A special 1-in 200 CGC 9.8 Near Mint variant by MARVEL ZOMBIES artist and Zombie King Arthur Suydam functions as an homage to the cover of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7.

FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES launches this April with a Diamond Order Code of FEB120828.

FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES is created by Jimmy Fox and Ben Silverma

Alabaster: Wolves in Dark Horse Presents #9

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By Chuck Suffel

International Horror Guild Award-winning author Caitlín R. Kiernan brings one of her most enduring and popular creations to comics! Dancy Flammarion, the albino girl and monster hunter who first appeared in Kiernan’s 2001 novel, Threshold. From Dark Horse: “For nearly as long as she can remember, Dancy Flammarion has fought monsters, cutting a bloody swath through the demons and dark things of the world, aimed like a weapon by forces beyond her control or questioning.”

Caitlin R. Kiernan & Steve Lieber are launching their new series Alabaster in April. The first story, however, appears in Dark Horse Presents #9 out Feb 22nd. I got a sneak peek at that story. First stories can be tricky, especially when the character is established in another medium. Do you do an origin story? Do you set the scene? Page of exposition perhaps? No. Eight pages of story. Toss us right in let us try to swim with the current.

It. Worked. Perfectly. The premise isn’t groundbreaking there’s a girl who fights evil, monsters are real but trust me that’s where the similarities to other series end. I’d never heard of Darcy Flammarion before but it didn’t matter. I didn’t fall in love with her, something better happened, somehow for eight pages I was mesmerized. She’s tough, focused, believes in what she’s doing. She’s also weird and more than a little crazy. We aren’t given a clear picture of the world she lives in but suffice to say it’s bad and she’s trying to make it better. Allusions are made to some kind of event that caused the world to change though we aren’t told what it was or how long ago it happened. I won’t spoil what does take place in the story but I will say it was one of the tensest stories I’ve read in a long time. I was totally wrapped up in it. When I hit the end I realized I had been holding my breath the whole time.

The art is by Steve Lieber and it’s great, he’s known for such amazing work as Whiteout with Greg Ruka, Underground with Jeff Parker and this is right on par with his best stuff. If Dark Horse puts out any preview images you can be sure I’ll post them right here!

I hope the series, due out in April, packs the same feeling that little eight pager did. I’ll tell you one thing I’ll be there to read it. And I’ll let you know what I think.

Don’t forget February 22nd!

Dark Horse Presents #9
Writer: Paul Pope, Neal Adams, Brian Wood, Mike Mignola, M. J. Butler, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Steve Horton, Andrew Vachss, Tony Puryear
Artist: Paul Pope, Neal Adams, Michael Dialynas, Kristian Donaldson, Joe Querio, Mark Wheatley, Thomas Yeates, Steve Lieber, Geof Darrow, Tony Puryear
Cover Artist: Mike Mignola
Genre: Short Stories / Anthologies
Publication Date: February 22, 2012
Format: FC, 80 pages
Price: $7.99
UPC: 7 61568 17843 2 00911

Followed April 11th by!

Alabaster: Wolves #1
Writer: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Artist: Steve Lieber
Cover Artist: Greg Ruth
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Publication Date: April 11, 2012
Format: FC, 32 pages
Price: $3.50
UPC: 7 61568 20295 3 00111