In our latest recap of the news from Image Comics this week, we bring you news of a new story arc from the Eisner Award winning team of Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, the announcement of a new Hit-Girl series from Kevin Smith (which we covered in a stand-alone post), news on the Eisner-Award winning series from Marjorie Liu, MONSTRESS, and more.
On Monday it was announced that Greg Rucka and Michael Lark will team up again for LAZARUS: RISEN #1.
The New York Times bestselling series will return with a 64 page issue on March 13th in a prestige format and with a quarterly schedule.
Multi-time Eisner Award winning series MONSTRESS had two pieces of notable news this week. First is the announcement of a new story arc that will kick off in issue #19 in January.
The other piece of news is that the first eighteen issues of the series from the first woman to win an Eisner for Best Writer, Marjorie Liu, will be collected in a hardcover version. The release will include new cover art, and lots of extras in the 500 plus page book including sketches, script pages, and more.
On Friday Image made the announcement that the next chapter of Tom Parkinson-Morgan’s (a.k.a. Abbadon) webcomic KILL SIX BILLION DEMONS will be released as a trade paperback in March.
“In this one there’s love, revenge, obsession, a mad god, and a dragon,” said Parkinson-Morgan. “There’s also a four-page spread of an army of psychopathic accountant priests fighting colonial soldiers mounted on dinosaurs.”
The collection will retail for $16.99, and will be released to comic book stores on March 6th, and to bookstores on the 12th of March.
The last piece of news for the week was that artist Erica Henderson, and writer Kyle Starks will join forces for the next series in the saga that is ASSASSIN NATION.
The “mega-violent action-comedy” series is about a former hitman who now has a hit out on him…so he hires 20 assassins as bodyguards.
Full press releases are below. All artwork is courtesy of Image.
LAZARUS: RISEN #1 MARKS THE RETURN OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES
Coming this March
PORTLAND, OR, 12/10/2018 — The Eisner Award-winning team of Greg Rucka (BLACK MAGICK, THE OLD GUARD, Gotham Central) and Michael Lark (Daredevil, Gotham Central) will release LAZARUS: RISEN #1, which kicks off a new story arc in a new prestige format and with a new quarterly schedule, this March.
Weighing in at 64 pages and packed with extras, LAZARUS: RISEN #1 continues the story of Forever and the Carlyle Family. Two years have passed since they were betrayed in battle, and the Conclave War now encroaches on every side. As a new era dawns, Johanna Carlyle goes on the attack to ensure the survival of her Family, relying on the loyalty and support of the Carlyle Lazarus—her sister, Forever. And while their united front may be enough to turn the tide, the cracks are beginning to show…
“Forever’s journey has entered a new phase,” said Rucka, “and we wanted the title to reflect not just that, but all things LAZARUS present and future. We’re excited to finally get to share this next chapter!”
LAZARUS: RISEN #1 will be available on Wednesday, March 13th.
LAZARUS 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. Fans can also subscribe to receive the series delivered by mail within the domestic U.S. on Image Direct. Select praise for LAZARUS:
“A compelling story that’s up there with the best TV dramas… As the real world feels ever closer to dystopia, LAZARUS is a powerful warning against where we could be headed.” —Salon
“This is career-best work for Rucka and Lark; it’s also the best comic going for fans of unflinching storytelling.” —Paste Magazine
“Many a contemporary dystopian comic flirts with the idea of a world driven to ruin by greed, but few do so in as relevant a manner as LAZARUS.” —IGN
“LAZARUS embodies everything I want in a comic book: dystopian near-future, hard sci-fi, badass female protagonist, contemporary social and political themes, blistering action, a touch of pathos, art that makes me feel like I can smell the cordite and taste the dirt.” —Comicosity
NEW STORY ARC OF FIVE-TIME EISNER AWARD-WINNING SERIES MONSTRESS KICKS OFF IN JANUARY, DELUXE HARDCOVER EDITION SLATED FOR JULY
PORTLAND, OR 12/12/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to announce that the multiple Eisner Award-winning series Monstress by creator/writer Marjorie Liu (who made history as the first woman to win an Eisner in the Best Writer category for the series this year) and creator/artist Sana Takeda will be collected into a deluxe, oversized hardcover edition, Monstress: Book One, in July. A new story arc filled with adventure will launch this January with Monstress #19.
The Monstress: Book One hardcover edition will collect the first 18 issues of the New York Timesbestselling, Harvey Award, two-time Hugo Award, two-time British Fantasy Award, and five-time Eisner Award-winning series, and feature a striking new cover, as well as special extras, including never-before-seen sketches, script pages, and more with over 500 pages of award-winning content.
While fans wait for the hardcover edition this summer, they can pick up Monstress #19 in January, which will begin a new story arc in the series and will follow Maika and Corvin on their search for Kippa through a warped and lethal land, where even Kippa herself will face her own terrible monsters.
The richly imagined world of Monstress is an alternate matriarchal 1900s Asia, with an art deco-infused steampunk aesthetic that’s brimming with arcane dangers. Within it, a teenage girl struggles to overcome the trauma of war, a task that’s made all the more difficult by her mysterious psychic link to an eldritch monster of tremendous power—a connection that will transform them both and place them in the crosshairs of both human and otherworldly powers.
Monstress #19 (Diamond Code NOV180165) will be available on Wednesday, January 23rd. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is Monday, December 17th.
Monstress #19 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.
Monstress Book One hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-5343-1232-6) will be available in comic shops on Wednesday, July 3rd and in bookstores on Tuesday, July 9th. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.
Select praise for Monstress: “Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda take eastern and western comics storytelling traditions and styles, and create something wholly their own and remarkable: a beautifully told story of magic and fear, inhumanity and exploitation, of what it means to be human and the monsters we all carry inside us. Also, some of the best cats in comics. A delight.” —Neil Gaiman
“If you want big, beautiful, terrifying, violent magic, Monstress is your next favorite comic.” —Cosmopolitan
“Feels like a battle cry.” —Vox.com
“World-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics.” —The Hollywood Reporter
INFIDEL TRADE PAPERBACK TOPS BEST OF YEAR LISTS, RUSHED BACK TO PRINT THIS WEEK
PORTLAND, OR 12/13/2018 — On the heels of news that Hany Abu-Assad (director on The Mountain Between Us) will direct Infidel’s film adaptation, Image Comics is rushing the breakout hit horror story Infidel by bestselling editor and writer Pornsak Pichetshote, artist Aaron Campbell, award-winning colorist and editor José Villarrubia (Batman: Year 100, Spider-Man: Reign), and letterer/designer Jeff Powell back to print this week, ahead of schedule. A haunted house story for the 21st century, Infidel follows an American Muslim woman and her multiracial neighbors who move into a building haunted by entities that feed off xenophobia. Garnering early critical acclaim for its fresh and timely twist on horror, Infidel was selected for NPR’s “Best Books of 2018” as well as featured on NPR’s “100 Favorite Horror Stories of All Time” list, and selected for Book Riot‘s “Best Comics of 2018” list. Infidel trade paperback collects issues #1-5—the complete miniseries—plus an introduction by Tananarive Due and an afterword by Jeff Lemire. Infidel trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534308367, Diamond Code JUL180148) is available now at local comic shops, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indiebound, and Indigo. Infidel is also available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.Select praise for Infidel:
“With its precise interplay of real-life fears and supernatural terror, Infidel is as mesmerizing as it is insightful.” —NPR “Sinewy and tense, this outstanding comic from former Vertigo editor Pichetshote and artists Campbell (James Bond), José Villarrubia (King Conan), and Jeff Powell (Earth One) boldly displays a multifaceted and thoughtful view of racial and religious issues at the forefront of cultural dialog across the United States while delivering solid horror that will keep readers awake at night.” —Library Journal “Horror as topical as it is viscerally distressing…leaves readers both creeped out and more aware of the presence of everyday monsters.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Devastating… Best of 2018.” —IGN “A classic horror story… used to superb effect.” —Uproxx “A spiritual successor to Jordan Peele’s genre-altering masterwork and provides some of the most harrowing scares that comics has seen in years.” —Vulture “Infidel will disturb you, but it may also send you out with a newfound sense of faith in humanity.” —The Comics Journal “One of the scariest and most relevant horror stories of recent years.” —SYFYWire “As much a bone chilling horror story as it is a brilliantly topical commentary.” —Gamespot “Like nothing I’ve read before… Highly recommended.” —Steve Niles, 30 Days of Night “A visually stunning and highly entertaining horror comic with a profound message… Has the potential to be the next great horror film phenomenon.” —Bloody Disgusting “A genuinely creepy and modern horror comic.” —Cliff Chiang, Paper Girls “Infidel is a shocking comic. It’s an early pick for one of the best horror comics of the year. It will chill you to the bone and not just because of the horrifying visions the main character endures.” —Horror Talk “One of the most compelling and evocative tales with powerful social commentary, gripping tension, beautiful art and well-paced execution.” —Multiversity Comics “Brilliant horror with a terrifying contemporary resonance. This feels way, way too real.” —Mike Carey, Lucifer “One that should not be ignored.” —Newsarama “A must for horror fans.” —Graphic Policy
