This week in news from Image Comics comes the announcement of variant covers for Warren Ellis and Jason Howard’s CEMETERY BEACH, the 3rd printing for MIDDLEWEST #1, and more.
On Tuesday, Image revealed variant covers for some upcoming issues of CEMETERY BEACH. The variants by Jason Howard will pay tribute to some classic covers from such legendary creators as Todd McFarlane, Frank Miller, Bruce Timm, and more.
On Thursday, Image announced that Skottie Young and Jorge Corona’s MIDDLEWEST will get a 3rd printing of their first issue.
Look for the 3rd printing of the dark fantasy series’ first issue at your comic book shop on January 23rd.
Lastly this week, was the announcement that the dark sci-fi mini-series LITTLE BIRD from writer Darcy Van Poelgeest and artist Ian Bertram will debut in March.
From the press release “In the world of Little Bird, North America has been devastated by three decades of war as the American Empire expands under an ultra-nationalist, theocratic government. But from the ashes of defeat rises Little Bird, a 12-year old girl who sets out to reignite the Canadian Resistance and discover her own identity in a world on fire.”
Full press releases for all of the news this week is below. All artwork courtesy of Image Comics.
COMPLETE LINE OF JASON HOWARD’S COLLECTIBLE CEMETERY BEACH IMPACT VARIANTS REVEALED
Final variant in series hits this February
PORTLAND, OR 12/18/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to reveal the complete set of covers in the line of “Impact variants” for Warren Ellis and Jason Howard’s Cemetery Beach. Each cover features artwork by Howard, but drawn in the style of an artist who made an impact on his work and influenced his creative career. The collectible Cemetery Beach variants pay tribute to the iconic Todd McFarlane (Spider-Man), Mike Mignola(Hellboy), Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), Bruce Timm(Batman: The Animated Series), Stephen Platt(Prophet), Frank Miller (Sin City), and Dave Johnson (Super Patriot).
Cemetery Beach reunites the creative team behind the critically acclaimed Trees comic series, which has a forthcoming television adaption signed up via NBCUniversal International Studios’ first-look deal to be produced by Hardy Son & Baker.
Cemetery Beach is perhaps best described as a high-speed action serial paired with a 2001: A Space Odyssey-level awe and wonder. It features the characteristically mind-bending Warren Ellis writing style that is echoed in his current hit Netflix series, Castlevania and which influenced a generation of comics creators through his online presence of free-wheeling creativity and discussion on the Warren Ellis Forum.
The series follows a professional pathfinder, his only ally a disaffected young murderess, who breaks out of a torture cell in pursuit of his worst extraction scenario ever: escaping on foot across a sprawling and secret off-world colony established a hundred years ago and filled with generations of lunatics.
Cemetery Beach issues #1-4 are available now.
Cemetery Beach #5 Cover A (Diamond Code NOV180114) and Cover B (Diamond Code NOV180115) will be available on Wednesday, January 9th.
Cemetery Beach #6 Cover A (Diamond Code DEC180232) and Cover B (Diamond Code DEC180233) will be available on Wednesday, February 6th. The final order cutoff for comics retailers is Monday, January 14th.
Cemetery Beach #7 Cover A (Diamond Code JAN190286) and Cover B (Diamond Code JAN190287) will be available on Wednesday, March 6th. The final order cutoff for comics retailers is Monday, February 11th.
The series is also available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.
Cemetery Beach trade paperback (ISBN: 978-1534312234)—collecting the complete series, #1-7—will hit comic book stores on Wednesday, June 5th and bookstores on Tuesday, June 11th. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.
Select praise for Cemetery Beach:
“Howard produces some of the best action sequences of 2018 and Ellis’ dialogue is in top form.” —ComicBook.com
“Longtime Ellis fans see a writer doing what does best: Make a reader feel nice and comfy with familiarity before he quickly yanks it away like a fleece blanket on a cold night.” —Comic Book Resources
“A much more classic feel [than Trees] coupled with Ellis’ trademark crass sense of humor.” —Newsarama
WAVE OF FAN SUPPORT FOR MIDDLEWEST SENDS THE DEBUT ISSUE BACK TO PRINT FOR A THIRD TIME
PORTLAND, OR 12/20/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to announce that Middlewest #1 has been greenlit for a third printing to keep up with the feverish consumer support for the new series by Eisner Award-winning and New York Timesbestselling creator Skottie Young (I Hate Fairyland, Bully Wars, Deadpool) and Russ Manning Award-winning artist Jorge Corona. The Middlewest #1, third-printing cover will feature exciting new art by Corona.
The lands between the coasts are vast, slow to change, and full of hidden magics. Mistakes have been made, and in Middlewest, an unwitting adventurer searches for answers to quell a coming storm that knows his name. A blend of dark fantasy best described as classic Don Bluth animation meets Return to Oz, Middlewest is the tale of Abel, a young boy who must navigate an old land in order to reconcile his family’s history.
Middlewest #1, 3rd printing (Diamond Code OCT188776) will be available on Wednesday, January 23rd. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is Monday, January 7th.
Middlewest #1 is also available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play. Fans can also subscribe to receive the series delivered by mail within the domestic U.S. on Image Direct.
Middlewest #2 (Diamond Code OCT180222) is available and in stores now.
DARK SCIENCE-FICTION MINISERIES OUT THIS MARCH, LITTLE BIRD, EXPLORES AN ULTRA-NATIONALIST NORTH AMERICA
PORTLAND, OR 12/21/2018 — Director/screenwriter Darcy Van Poelgeest
boasts a long list of awards and accolades for his storytelling prowess and brings the same writing finesse to Ian Bertram’s breathtakingly detailed artwork in the gorgeous, hyper-detailed miniseries Little Birdlaunching from Image Comics this March.
“Little Bird is really just Ian and I sitting down and creating a comic we really want to read, inhabited with characters we genuinely love,” said Van Poelgeest. “It’s been an exciting and emotional journey creating this book, and I can’t wait for others to join us on that journey.”
Bertram burst onto the scene with his haunting, macabre collaboration with Peter J. Tomasi on House of Penance, the eerie, unsettling comic series about the Winchester haunted house. He brings a similarly intricate inking style to the pages of Little Bird.
With the same limitless scope as a new East of West or Saga—and the drama and surrealism of Akira—Little Bird follows a young resistance fighter in a science-fiction style reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky.
In the world of Little Bird, North America has been devastated by three decades of war as the American Empire expands under an ultra-nationalist, theocratic government. But from the ashes of defeat rises Little Bird, a 12-year old girl who sets out to reignite the Canadian Resistance and discover her own identity in a world on fire.
Little Bird #1 (Diamond Code JAN190099) will be available on Wednesday, March 13. The final order cutoff deadline for comics shop retailers is Monday, Feb. 18.
The digital edition of Little Bird #1 will also be available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.
