In addition to today’s launch of Dan the Unharmable #1 by David Lapham and Rafael Ortiz, Avatar Press shipped three other great titles today, available at fine comic shops everywhere! We are happy to share the below previews with our dedicated fans.
Presenting a preview of Crossed: Badlands #5 by Jamie Delano and Leandro Rizzo:
Presenting a preview of Dicks #4 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea:
Presenting a preview of Ferals #5 by David Lapham and Gabriel Andrade:
David Lapham‘s industry credentials are too numerous to list, but Avatar fans know him from some of our hottest titles of the past few years:
Crossed: Family Values.
Caligula.
Crossed 3D.
Ferals.
Crossed: Psychopath.
His work at Avatar Press is helping to guide the company to a new level. But all the while, as he was diligently working on these numerous projects, there’s been one project that he’s been painstakingly developing and mapping out, an ongoing series that holds a very special place in his heart. That project is Dan the Unharmable. And tomorrow, the first issue of this bloody crime story finally hits stores.
To set the stage, we proudly share the first few pages of issue #1 below!
Dan the Unharmable #1 introduces a bohemian slacker, a man without direction or moral convictions… who just happens to be completely invulnerable. “I had this idea, what about a guy who just couldn?t be hurt? Bullets, fire, drowning, whatever? nothing can hurt him,” says Lapham. “And what if that extended to the psychological? Dan doesn?t get riled up if you call him any horrible thing that you can imagine. You can?t insult Dan?s mama, or dare him to do things. Dan?s just chill. So extending from that, I entered a situation that Dan can?t ignore. Four orphaned kids, their mother brutally murdered in the style of a classic Hollywood murder ? even the most hardened man couldn?t ignore this.”
Featuring interior and cover artwork by Rafael Ortiz, Dan the Unharmable #1 will be available tomorrow in comic shops with three variant editions available for purchase.
Dan the Unharmable #1 Regular Edition
Diamond Item Code: MAR120783
Retail Price: $3.99
Cover artwork pictured above
Dan the Unharmable #1 Retro Edition
Ask Diamond Item Code: MAR120785
Retail Price: Ask your retailer!
Cover artwork pictured left
Dan the Unharmable #1 Wraparound Edition
Ask Diamond Item Code: MAR120784
Retail Price: $3.99
Cover artwork pictured below
Every year, the first Saturday in May marks a celebration of comic book culture, as comic shops spanning two continents open their doors to the curious and adventurous public, welcoming them to sample their goods for free! It’s Free Comic Book Day, and this year’s big celebration takes place on this coming Saturday, May 5th. While Avatar Press has not submitted a Free Comic Book item itself (thus sparing thousands of children from getting their all-too-eager hands on mature titles like Crossed and Ferals), your favorite comic book publisher (that’s us!) is certainly getting involved in the experience!
If you haven’t heard, our sister company Boundless Comics has offered its first-ever Free Comic Book Day item, Lady Death: The Beginning, which features a script written by Mike Wolfer (Stitched, Night of the Living Dead) and Brian Pulido (creator of Lady Death), with artwork by Marcelo Mueller. This 40-page introductory issue includes the original Lady Death Premiere and #0 issues, which re-introduce the beloved femme fatale for a new generation. The book features a gorgeous new cover by artist Jason Eden, plus a back-up story featuring War Goddess, an explosive warrior-women-versus-evil-monsters series (that you should be reading, naturally) by Mike Wolfer and Gabriel Andrade.? It’s free and it’s fantastic!
There’s a high demand for Lady Death: The Premiere.? As reported by William Moulton of Mile High Comics, customer pre-orders on Lady Death are running neck-and-neck with comics from such distinguished publishers as Marvel Comics and DC Comics! You’d better watch out, Johnny DC and Marvel Zombies, we’re gunning for ya!
Also in Free Comic Book Day news, Avatar’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Keith Davidsen, will be making setting up at Collectors Corner in Baltimore, MD, for most of the day. He’ll be representing the Avatar line at the store, answering fan questions, and generally introducing new mature readers to the wonders of Avatar Press. Furthermore, he’ll be decked out in Crossed face paint, just for good measure! If you live in Charm City, make sure to swing by Collectors Corner at 7911 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21234, and say hello! We’re sure that Randy Myers and the crew at Collectors Corner will be thrilled to see you!
Everyone have an enjoyable Free Comic Book Day!
The title really does say it all, doesn’t it?
Avatar Press is headed to Alberta for Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo (let’s just call it Calgary Expo for convenience’s sake), and we’re bringing some of our top-notch talent with us!? Beginning on Friday, April 27th, and running through Sunday, April 29th, Stampede City will host the pop culture convention at the BMO Centre, and Avatar Press (alongside sister company Boundless Comics) will be setting up at Booth #622.? If you live in the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, or are willing to take a road trip through the lovely Alberta countryside to Cowtown (yes, I am pulling out all the stops with Calgary nicknames), come join us!
Just to reinforce our awesome line-up of guests:
MAX BROOKS
Author of The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z, and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
(Plus some incredible Avatar projects currently under top-secret development, so hush!)
MIKE WOLFER
Writer/Artist of Stitched, Night of the Living Dead, and Gravel
(Plus War Goddess and Lady Death from our awesome Boundless Comics imprint)
JACEN BURROWS
Artist of Crossed, Neonomicon, Crossed: Badlands, and Chronicles of Wormwood
(Uhm… Max and Mike had a second line, and we wouldn’t want Jacen to feel left out)
Avatar Press proudly announces that the Zak Penn, the accomplished screenwriter with a half dozen superhero film credits under his belt, will launch his first-ever comic book series, Hero Worship, in July 2012. The six-issue miniseries will be co-written by Scott Murphy (screenwriter of Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and feature artwork by Michael DiPascale.
Hero Worship introduces the ultimate celebrity, an indestructible superhero called Zenith, and the rabid fans that worship him. These legions of adoring admirers follow every disaster, trying to speculate where they can catch a glimpse of their modern messiah ? even risking their own lives in the process. But what happens when one fan?s unhealthy obsession leads to the development of powers all his own?
?We couldn?t be more thrilled about Zak Penn bringing his debut comic project to Avatar,? says publisher William Christensen. ?Zak is an incredibly gifted and inventive writer, and Hero Worship is a fresh perspective on the entire genre. It?s slick and innovative, taking risks like every great Avatar title should. Let the other Brand-X companies tell the same-old, ?Guy-in-Tights-Punches-Another-Guy-in-Tights? stories; here at Avatar, Zak?s got the freedom to blow all the doors off their hinges.?
Zak Penn began his career as a screenwriter when selling his first script, Last Action Hero, at the age of twenty-three. Since then, Penn?s name has become synonymous with big-budget superhero films, predominantly those based on Marvel Comics characters: The Avengers, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, Elektra, and The Incredible Hulk. His first foray into television, the critically acclaimed Alphas, debuted in July 2011 on the cable channel Syfy and is set to enter its second season shortly.
Penn is joined in this creative venture by Scott Murphy, a writing partner whose work on Star Wars: The Clone Wars provides the perfect frame of reference for working with iconic characters. The series? luscious, painted art style is provided by Michael DiPascale, whose artwork has long graced the front covers of Avatar Press (and sister company Boundless Comics) publications, including Lady Death, War Goddess, Crossed, and Night of the Living Dead, among others.
Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer (Lady Death, War Goddess) continue to expand the world of Stitched with tomorrow’s release of Stitched #4. The horror series, originally conceived by Ennis as a movie treatment, follows six soldiers through the Afghanistan desert as they evade small bands of undead war machines and the black magicians who are their vicious masters. Like the three-issue story arc that launched Crossed: Badlands, Stitched has been slowly building the terror in each issue, as the soldiers’ journey across the unforgiving landscape sheds more light on dark secrets better kept in shadows.
We’re happy to share a preview with you of this issue. Just wait until you see what’s waiting for the troops once they start their descent into the Afghanistan canyons after this scene!
Interestingly enough, if you know Ennis’ previous work, there’s evidence in this issue that he still maintains his love affair with the “303” Lee-Enfield rifle. Longtime fans might remember that Ennis wrote a series called 303, published a few years back by Avatar Press and featuring a pre-Crossed collaboration with Jacen Burrows. In Stitched #4, the 303 once again makes an appearance, with Barclay conversing to his British SAS soldiers about the value of the weapon. It’s nice when a theme comes back ’round.
Stitched #4 will be available tomorrow in comic shops, with the following cover variants (all by series scriptwriter and artist Mike Wolfer) available for purchase.
Stitched #4 Regular Edition
$3.99, Diamond Item Code: JAN120892
Stitched #4 Gore Edition
$3.99, Diamond Item Code: JAN120894
Stitched #4 Wraparound Edition
$3.99, Diamond Item Code: JAN120893
Welcome to New Comic Wednesday! Today, comic shops across the globe will offer the third issue of CROSSED: BADLANDS, including the final chapter in Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ opening story arc for the series.
In CROSSED: BADLANDS #3,the Crossed hordes have finally tracked down Ian and his band of ragtag survivors in the snow-covered Scottish Highlands.? Burdened by the elements, armed with their last few bullets, and distrustful of one another, these survivors don’t have much hope of survival.? Still, Ian presses on… to a bloody finale that will tear at your heartstrings.
CROSSED: BADLANDS #3 is written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Jacen Burrows.? Today’s releases include three variant covers, all illustrated by Burrows himself:
CROSSED: BADLANDS #3 Regular Edition
$3.99, Item Code: FEB120783
CROSSED: BADLANDS #3 Torture Edition
$3.99, Item Code: FEB120784
CROSSED: BADLANDS #3 Wraparound Edition
$3.99, Item Code: FEB120785
Enjoy our preview of BADLANDS #3 below!
But just because the Ennis & Burrows story is coming to a close, don’t think for a second that we don’t have thrilling new CROSSED adventures ready to share! In just two short weeks, legendary writer Jamie Delano (Hellblazer, Rawbone, Narcopolis) and Leandro Rizzo will deliver the first chapter of a new bloody BADLANDS arc, featuring three groups of survivors set on an explosive collision course in the Florida Everglades. BADLANDS is your source for bi-weekly extreme horror!
And if a bi-weekly publishing schedule is not enough for you, then you can enjoy our weekly CROSSED shenanigans over at CrossedComic.com, where Si Spurrier and Javier Barreno kindly serve new online installments to their long-form epic, WISH YOU WERE HERE, every Thursday. Tune in tomorrow for the latest madness to pour out of Si Spurrier’s mind!
We’re happy to share two previews with you, showcasing Avatar’s two titles hitting store shelves for the first time today!? First up, we present FERALS #4 by David Lapham and Gabriel Andrade:
Next, we are happy to present the preview of DICKS (COLOR) #3, by Garth Ennis and John McCrea!
Yesterday, the Horror Writers Association held its 25th annual Bram Stoker Awards, recognizing superior achievements in horror writing. The 2011 awards consideration marked the first-ever inclusion of the category “Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel.” The contenders included:
From this fine list of projects, Alan Moore was recipient of the award. In absentia, Alan Moore’s acceptance was read with good humor by award presenters Scott Edelman and Rocky Wood:
If I may, I?d like to strike a sour note from the onset with regard to my unfathomable and near pathological aversion to awards. I?ve witnessed far too many good and valuable creators make awards a measure, either of themselves or of their craft, and suffer subsequent inertia or derangement. If they fail to win one they become unbearable in their own eyes and if they win one they become unbearable to everybody else. Aged just eleven I was made Head Prefect at the primary school that I attended in Spring Lane, thus ruinously altering my personality. Berserk with power I became tyrannical and autocratic in my duties as milk-monitor, and personally believe that I was a short step away from unexplained mass graves on the school playing field and a tight-lipped appearance in a glass box at some paediatric version of the Haag.
Perhaps as a result of this, in later life I find I have a tendency to shun awards and, while appreciating the good will they represent, to get them out of my immediate environment as quickly as is possible. I?m currently residing in a sterilised and strictly accolade-free zone, with one unique exception. This, it hardly need be said, is the Bram Stoker that I had the honour of receiving in 2000 for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
One might ask why this is the sole survivor of a cull that saw its fellow statuettes, certificates and once, I promise, a container of Bart Simpson bubble-bath which had a sticker with ?Lifetime Achievement Award? printed on it covering the barcode; that saw all of these consigned to history. Firstly, and least importantly, I?d have to say that the award is in itself a piece of art, a beautiful creation that I never tire of looking at and handling. Secondly, and crucially, there is the provenance of the award to be considered. The Bram Stoker is, to me, a priceless token of appreciation from a group of people for whom I have limitless respect and admiration, these being my fellow workers at this darkest of all coalfaces. The landscape of imagination, and especially it?s less hospitable far boundary, is perhaps the most important human territory of all, and so to feel acknowledged by a lineage of fine writers which extends from the Great Old Ones of the past to the still unrevealed giants yet to come means more to me than I can readily express.
As is often the case when one?s work crosses personal boundaries, I spent a long time in fretful deliberation over Neonomicon and six months after finishing the work was still uncertain as to whether it was good or even publishable. These doubts dwindled at first glimpse of Jacen Burrows? wonderfully controlled delineations, both unflinching and meticulous, and have vanished entirely on receipt of this remarkable award. To all of you, thank you so much for this. You?ve made an unkempt and increasingly bewildered old man very happy.
The acceptance speech went over extremely well with the crowd, inciting laughter and applause at all the right moments. You can view the entire Bram Stoker Award ceremony online. The graphic novel portion of the Award ceremony can be found between 1:10:00 and 1:17:20.
On C-Day (this past March 14th), Avatar Press launched the new, ongoing Crossed: Badlands print series in a simultaneous launch with CrossedComic.com‘s own Crossed: Wish You Were Here webcomic. If you love Crossed and can’t get enough of its edge-of-the-seat violence and drama, you’ll want to make sure you follow both series! While Wish You Were Here posts online weekly on Thursdays, Badlands runs on a bi-weekly print schedule. As such, today is the release date of our second Badlands issue, and we’d love to share the following preview with you.
Badlands reunites creator Garth Ennis with his original Crossed creative partner Jacen Burrows (the artist extraordinaire whose previous project was the critically acclaimed Neonomicon) for a tale of desperate survivors struggling to evade the roving homicidal hordes among the Scottish Highlands. In this latest chapter, tensions rise between the survivors, and tough choices need to be made. What will they do when a survivor steals from the others? Or when a pregnant girl?s impending labor threatens to slow their escape? Also, issue #2 reveals more from the brooding hero Ian?s past, and what terrors shaped his views on survival in this post-apocalyptic world. It’s a heart-wrenching, personal tale!
Crossed: Badlands #2 comes available in multiple cover variants, giving the fans freedom of choice. This week?s releases are listed below. We’ve also presented thumbnail images of each cover below, which you can click on to see the various artwork.
Crossed: Badlands #2 Regular Edition
$3.99, Cover by Jacen Burrows
Diamond Item Code: JAN120883
Crossed: Badlands #2 Torture Edition
$3.99, Cover by Gianluca Pagliarani
Diamond Item Code: JAN120884
Crossed: Badlands #2 Wraparound Edition
$3.99, Cover by Jacen Burrows
Diamond Item Code: JAN120885
