Freak Comics

There’s a major buzz brewing over Image Comics’ newest collaboration and the biggest shocker is it’s not even a comic book! This summer, Image Comics will be partnering with Kitchen Sink, the Utne Award-winning “magazine “for people who think too much”, in a new distribution venture.

From the moment Kitchen Sink originally hit the stands in 2002, it established itself as a top-notch alternative press magazine. To get the partnership off to a booming start, Kitchen Sink #14, in collaboration with Image, will feature a twenty- page Amazing Joy Buzzards tale on top of KS’s usual outstanding articles on everything from literature, art and film to sex, food, and God. As usual, KS 14 will also provide a platform for the best emerging artists and writers you’ll see this year.

“Over the last several years Image has undergone an extreme evolution,” Executive Director Eric Stephenson explains. “Just compare a handful of titles such as Phonogram, Amazing Joy Buzzards, and Put the Book Back on the Shelf to what we did during our inception and it’ll hit you over the head. Once it came time to plot our next stage of development the first thought we had was bringing Kitchen Sink into the fold.”

“When Image proposed the partnership we quickly agreed,” says Kitchen Sink Editor-in-Chief Stefanie Kalem. “Every issue of Kitchen Sink is unique. We always aim to publish fresh writing and art, so the magazine continually reinvents itself. We’re very excited to be working with a company that’s reimagining itself as well, and we are eager to take both Image and Kitchen Sink’s work in new directions. The comics world is catching wind of this collaboration, and anticipation is building.”

“We’ve carried Kitchen Sink since issue one,” Rory Root, owner of the world famous Comic Relief: The Comic Bookstore, proclaims. “As a forward thinking literary magazine with some fine strips and an Art Comic flavor to its illustrations, Kitchen Sink is a magazine that belongs on the coffee tables of fans of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern or the Believer across the country. I’m excited to see what the synergy of publishing with Image will bring.”

Kitchen Sink #14 (JUN061680) is available for order now with a cover price of $5.95 and an in-store date of August 9th. Further information on Kitchen Sink can be found at http://www.kitchensinkmag.com/

Bestselling author Neil Gaiman returns to bring to you one of the most eagerly anticipated events of 2006 - Eternals. Gaiman is joined by none-other-than superstar artist John Romita Jr. as they reimagine this creation of the legendary Jack Kirby.

Gaiman promises that Eternals will firmly cement the Eternals and their extended mythos into the Marvel Universe… and neither the Eternals nor the Marvel Universe will ever be the same again. Set against the backdrop of the current Marvel Universe, Civil War and all, this series will pull Ikaris, Sersi and the rest of the Eternals back into the spotlight, where they belong.

The acclaimed writer of 1602 and Sandman brings you a tale of adventure, love affairs, and betrayals in the mighty Marvel manner that is guaranteed to be one of the biggest events of 2006.

Immortals with amazing powers have watched civilizations rise and fall…so why does no one remember them? Find out that and more in Gaiman and Romita Jr.’s Eternals #1 on sale June 21.

ETERNALS #1 (OF 6) (APR062022)
Written by NEIL GAIMAN
Penciled by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Cover by RICK BERRY
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC - 6/1, On Sale - 6/21/2006

ETERNALS #1 (OF 6) ROMITA JR. VARIANT (APR062023)
Written by NEIL GAIMAN
Penciled by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Variant Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC - 6/1, On Sale - 6/21/2006

ETERNALS #1 (OF 6) ROMITA JR. SKETCH VARIANT (MAR068226)
Written by NEIL GAIMAN
Penciled by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Variant Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC - 6/1, On Sale - 6/21/2006

ETERNALS #1 (OF 6) COIPEL VARIANT (APR068106)
Written by NEIL GAIMAN
Penciled by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Variant Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC - 6/1, On Sale - 6/21/2006

What’s bigger than a story featuring the Hulk? Well, how about two new stories as well as a classic tale featuring the Jade Giant.

Feauring Banner’s first appearance since arriving on the alien world, by Planet Hulk scribe Greg Pak along with Aaron Lopresti art, Banner and the Hulk will battle for supremacy over the body and soul they share. Question is: who will walk away the winner?

In Giant-Size Hulk #1, legendary Hulk writer Peter David and Juan Santa Cruz bring to you an all-new untold tale from the Hulk’s past. One of the oddest assemblages of superheroes ever, the Champions, take on the Hulk in a story from the past that holds a key to the Hulk’s future as Planet Hulk continues. Watch a brawl for the ages as ol’ Purple Pants takes on Angel, Ice-Man, Ghost Rider, the Black Widow, and Hercules.

Plus, Giant-Size Hulk #1 represents the fan-favorite and now classic Hulk tale, Incredible Hulk: The End, by Peter David and Dale Keown.

For three exciting stories featuring the Hulk, pick up Giant-Size Hulk #1 as the Hulk goes toe-to-toe with the Champions, Banner, and even himself.

For a detailed bio of the Hulk, visit http://www.marvel.com/universe/Hulk < >

GIANT-SIZE HULK #1 (APR062030)
Written by PETER DAVID & GREG PAK
Penciled by JUAN SANTA CRUZ & AARON LOPRESTI
Cover by RYAN SOOK
What is the untold story of the battle between one of the strangest superhero teams in the Marvel Universe and the engine of destruction known as the Incredible Hulk? See ol’ Purple Pants go toe-to-toe with Angel, Ice-Man, Ghost Rider, The Black Widow and Hercules in a story that holds a key to Post-PLANET HULK events! By legendary Hulk scribe Peter David and Juan Santacruz.

PLUS! A PLANET HULK INTERLUDE! Bruce Banner makes his first appearance on Planet Sakaar - and battles the Hulk for his body and soul! What secret is the Hulk hiding? What terrible truth does Banner reveal? And who will triumph in this ultimate showdown? By Greg Pak and Aaron Lopresti.

Also: Re-presenting the outstanding INCREDIBLE HULK: THE END by Peter David and Dale Keown.
96 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
FOC - 6/1, On Sale - 6/21/2006

CHAMPIONS CLASSIC VOL. 1 TPB (APR062089)
Written by TONY ISABELLA, BILL MANTLO & CHRIS CLAREMONT
Penciled by DON HECK, GEORGE TUSKA, VINCE COLLETTA,
BOB HALL & JOHN BYRNE
Cover by GIL KANE
208 PGS./ Rated A …$19.99
FOC - 5/25, On Sale - 6/21/2006

INCREDIBLE HULK #96 (MAY061974)
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by AARON LOPRESTI
Cover by LADRÖNN
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99
FOC - 6/15, On Sale -7/5

With GØDLAND nearing its first anniversary and Joe Casey and Tom Scioli’s cosmic superhero series continuing to attract rave reviews, Image Comics has announced that a trade paperback collecting GØDLAND #7-12 will hit shelves in late July.

Written by Casey with art by Scioli, GØDLAND has received increasing critical acclaim following the release of the GØDLAND, VOL. 1: HELLO COSMIC! TP in January, attracting some of the most glowing reviews of any Image superhero titlle since INVINCIBLE. Despite rising initial orders, inclusion in Diamond’s overship program and a commitment to overprinting, the first three issues have sold out and inventory on later issues continues to dwindle at an ever-increasing rate, making the GØDLAND, VOL. 2: ANOTHER SUNNY DELIGHT TP the ideal companion piece to the first trade for new readers.

With lettering and fine design by Richard Starkings and Comicraft, each issue of GØDLAND is carefully-crafted to be a unique comics experience and the trade paperback collections are no different. And in addition to representing the six-issue story arc running through GØDLAND #7-12, GØDLAND, VOL. 2: ANOTHER SUNNY DELIGHT will also include the GØDLAND short from last year’s IMAGE COMICS HOLIDAY SPECIAL.

“That’s right: Another thick chapter of our cosmic superhero epic for all the ‘trade-waiters’ out there is about to be unleashed on the world,” exclaimed Casey. “The first trade is still selling well, so it’ll be nice to have another volume on the shelves. Some of my favorite comicbooks I’ve ever worked on are in this collection.”

And judging by the reaction from a recent polling of comics retailers, Joe’s far from the only one pleased with the series at this point:

“GØDLAND continues to impress,” said Rory Root of Berkeley’s Comic Relief. “Ongoing sales of the comic are nearly three times what we had at its launch. The GØDLAND collection is on our reorder list every week, and its sales have made it Comic Relief’s second best selling Image trade. A little Kirby love and skill can go a very long way.”

“GØDLAND is a book that people keep coming back for because every issue is packed with more WOW moments than your average pamphlet,” noted Carr D’Angelo of Los Angeles-based Earth-2 Comics. “The issues sell out regularly and the trade keeps flying off the shelves. There’s so much cosmic energy in this book, it might be flying on its own power. Joe Casey spins a jet-paced yarn that never stops moving and Tom Scioli draws pictures that are bigger than the comic you’re holding in your hands. Part Silver Age homage, part reinvention of the genre, GØDLAND rocks on all cylinders.”

Or as James Sime of San Francisco’s Isotope: The Comics Lounge so eloquently added: “Remember when comics were supposed to leave you bitter, unfulfilled and dreaming of the glory days again? Well, apparently Joe Casey, Tom Scioli and Image Comics didn’t get the memo, because what these folks are doing with GØDLAND is making people love comics all over again. Just what in the heck are these people thinking?

“As a retailer, I see people buying GØDLAND almost every single day and there is truly a huge variety of different kinds of customers who are hopelessly addicted to it. From the decades long comic readers who yearn for a time when comic books were filled with imagination and could transport you to another world, to jaded hipsters who hunger for something more emotionally meaningful in their entertainment, to fine art epicureans who seek abstract expressionism which defies traditional analysis in their sequential art, to die-hard superhero fans who long for something great that isn’t just a piece of the company wide summer crossover machine. GØDLAND seduces them all with it’s great writing, exciting characters, universal truths and those ever-present pychotropic Kirby crackles. And that can only be dangerous.

“While my cash register may love the effortless income a book like GØDLAND produces, I can’t help but be concerned about what such a cleverly intelligent, universally appealing, well-crafted and downright fun book might mean for future generations of bitter, unfulfilled comic readers.”

“Everyone on the GØDLAND team is doing the work of their careers on this book, from Starkings and Comicraft to our great colorist, Nick Filardi, to my cosmic co-conspirator, the mighty Tom Scioli himself,” Casey added. “Of course, I should also mention this trade paperback contains the secret origin of the universe… so it’s not only entertaining, it’s educational.”

GØDLAND, VOL. 2: ANOTHER SUNNY DELIGHT (MAY061725), a 160-page trade paperback with a cover price of $14.99, is available for order in the May issue of Previews with an in-store date of July 26. GØDLAND, VOL. 1: HELLO, COSMIC! (NOV051707) is available now.

Image Comics today announced that Diamond has completely sold out of FEAR AGENT #4 by Rick Remender, Tony Moore, Mike Manley and Lee Loughridge.

A specially-priced trade paperback collecting FEAR AGENT #1-4 has already been scheduled and will be in stores on June 21; FEAR AGENT, VOL. 1: REIGNITION TP (APR061774) is available for order now.

Created by Rick Remender and Tony Moore, FEAR AGENT is the story of down and out alien exterminator Heath Huston, who stumbles upon an extra-terrestrial plot to commit genocide on humanity. Meanwhile, he is forced to chose between the bottle and resuming his roll as a peacekeeper… as the last Fear Agent.

“I think it’s safe to say that many retailers continue to underestimate the demand for FEAR AGENT,” said Image Executive Director Eric Stephenson. “Since the debut of FEAR AGENT #1 late last year, though, there’s been a growing swell of interest in this title. People want this book.”

“We want to make sure that everyone who wants in on the action with FEAR AGENT will have an opportunity to do so. So, we rush-solicited the first trade in an effort to make the story as widely available as possible, plus we priced it at a meager $9.99 in order to take away any price resistance at the counter,” said Remender.

Stephenson was also quick to point out that while FEAR AGENT has its roots in classic sci-fi, its appeal is not nostalgia based.

“I don’t think there’s anything ‘retro’ about FEAR AGENT,” he explained. “Rick Remender is bring something new to this type of material in the same way creators like Steve Niles and Robert Kirkman brought a new perspective to horror.”

“The number of retailers that have approached us saying they’ve been looking at doubling, tripling and even quadrupling their orders makes us think that we should be very aggressive,” Remender added. “FEAR AGENT #5 is the beginning of a new story arc and the introduction of our new artist, Jerome Opena, and it’s a great jumping on point for new readers.”

With that in mind, Stephenson and Remender are both urging retailers to double-check their orders and place advance reorders for the upcoming FEAR AGENT #5, which Stephenson predicted would be an “instant sell out.”

“There will undoubtedly be a very high demand for issue #5 from new readers brought in by the thousands of affordable trades we’re shipping,” commented Remender.

FEAR AGENT #5 (MAR061848) is available for advance reorders now in the April issue of Previews and will go on sale June 28. FEAR AGENT, VOL. 1: REIGNITION (APR061774), a 96-page trade paperback priced at the low introductory price of $9.99, is available for advance reorder as well and will hit stores on the week prior, on June 21.

Ghost Rider also features the return of Mark Texeira and Javier Saltares to ol’ Flamehead and they’re bringing the writer of the huge hit Wolverine: Origins with them in Daniel Way.

The heat is dialed up even more on this first issue as there will be a Marc Silvestri Variant and a Marc Silvestri Sketch Variant. Plus, this sizzling image of the Spirit of Vengeance is being made into a poster that looks like it is heaven sent.

Ghost Rider #1 finds former stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze trapped in hell after making a deal with the devil. But now he has found his way out and he is going to leave a trail of scorching vengeance in his wake.

Pick up Ghost Rider #1 as the Spirit of Vengeance returns in his first ongoing series in nearly a decade that is sure to have fans hot under the collar with anticipation.

Las Vegas, the city of sin, vice, and bright lights is about to explode in the new BOMB QUEEN vs. BLACKLIGHT 1-SHOT!

Coming hot on the heels of the sold-out BOMB QUEEN mini-series, this over-the-top satire is written by SCOTT WHERLE (Blacklight) and illustrated by Bomb Queen’s JIMMIE ROBINSON!

This pyrotechnic one-shot opens on Bomb Queen and Blacklight finding themselves in Las Vegas for conventions (a weapons convention and a comic convention, respectively). The girls come to odds over ‘The Intimidator,’ a weapon so deadly, it’s the only one of its kind and that’s when the ‘catfight’ ensues.

Shadowline founder Jim Valentino says, “We wanted to see what happens when Shadowline’s resident good girl, Blacklight, faces down Bomb Queen, whose mini-series placed her at the top spot for ‘Baddest Woman In Comics.’ Scott and Jimmie found a story that will have everyone howling with laughter and begging for more.”

Fortunately, more Bomb Queen is on the way. Not only is BOMB QUEEN: WMD (WOMAN OF MASS DESTRUCTION) shipping this July, collecting the sold-out first BOMB QUEEN mini-series, but the one-shot will be followed this fall by a brand-new BOMB QUEEN mini-series, written and drawn by creator Jimmie Robinson!

Valentino warns, “Reports we get are that stores have not been able to keep BOMB QUEEN in stock and with a cover like this, forget about it, BOMB QUEEN vs. BLACKLIGHT is gonna fly off the shelves!”

BOMB QUEEN vs. BLACKLIGHT 1-SHOT (JUN061679) is available for order now from the August Previews catalog. It is a full-color book with a cover price of $3.50 and will be on sale at braver comics shops August 2nd.

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. There are currently four partners in Image Comics (Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com for more information. Image Comics - Putting the NEW back in to New Comic Book Day!(tm)

Remember the first time a record sent a divine shiver down your spine or when a band changed the way you dressed forever? How does something that is just noises arranged in sequence do that? No one knows. It’s just… magic.

Music is literally magic - that’s the premise behind PHONOGRAM, a modern dark-fantasy miniseries debuting this August from Image Comics.

The debut miniseries from award-winning journalist Kieron Gillen (Plan B, Busted Wonder), PHONOGRAM features artwork by Jamie McKelvie (LONG HOT SUMMER) and is already being dubbed “one of the few truly essential comics of 2006″ by Warren Ellis, who added with caution: “Read this or lose.”

“We want PHONOGRAM to move people as much as the things which inspired it – both the best pop records and the best pop comics – moved us,” explains Kieron Gillen. “I just feel incredibly privileged for this to be my first book. If I die without ever doing another comic after this… well, I can’t really complain. If I only have five minutes on stage, these are the five minutes I’d want.”

PHONOGRAM traces the misadventures of Phonomancer David Kohl as he hunts for whoever is interfering with his old patron, the long-dead Goddess of Britpop, Britannia. If he fails, history itself will be rewritten – and him entirely out of it. To do so the contemptuous Kohl must survive the most brutal corners of his world, while his mind is slowly being unravelled. Appropriately, the covers for the six-issue series are inspired by a handful of album covers associated with the Britpop boom of the mid-90s. Issue #1 pays homage to Elastica’s self-titled freshman release, while subsequent issues will reference Oasis’ DEFINITELY MAYBE, Blur’s MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH, Back Grape’s IT’S GREAT WHEN YOU’RE STRAIGHT, YEAH!, Manic Street Preachers’ THE HOLY BIBLE and Suede’s self-titled debut.

“When I read the script for PHONOGRAM I just thought ‘He’s written a script for me to draw, even though he doesn’t know me’,” says Jamie McKelvie.

“It’s my love letter to music,” says Gillen. “It’s an honest letter – I’ve been shacked up with her for long enough to know EXACTLY what she’s like, but I’m still hopelessly in love with her. Songs have made me kinder, crueller, smarter, dumber, funnier, happier, sadder, better and worse, and PHONOGRAM is me and McKelvie telling you all about it.”

PHONOGRAM will be available for preordering from the June PREVIEWS and the first issue of this black & white miniseries is in-stores August 2nd, 2006. For more information, plus downloadable posters, flyers and single-page narrative flyers called B-sides, please visit phonogramcomic.com

Here’s one for those fans who are tired of talking head crossovers where it takes half a dozen issues or more for anything to happen. Creator Erik Larsen takes the bull by the horns with the superhero crossover no one saw coming: Savage Dragon vs. Mark Millar’s WANTED and delivers an action-packed epic that fits neatly into the pages of SAVAGE DRAGON #128!

SAVAGE DRAGON started off as a cutting edge superhero book for older readers that focused on over-the-top action, dark humor and planet-shattering adventures. It blazed the path for books like THE AUTHORITY, THE ULTIMATES and WANTED, and with this crossover, the book returns to its roots.

A six-issue miniseries published by Image/Top Cow, Millar had previously stated the cast of WANTED were never to appear again, but the moment Larsen proposed the crossover, he had to make one exception.

“JG and I always made it quite clear that WANTED was going to be six issues long and self-contained,” explains Millar. “It sold a lot of books, the highest-selling creator-owned book since the ’90s, I believe, but we stuck to our guns and turned down all offers of a sequel because we liked it just the way it was. That said, only a wee daftie would turn down a chance to see their characters in SAVAGE DRAGON. Dragon is one of our favourite creator-owned books of all time and Erik is one of our favourite writer-artists. This is a One Night Only special and our babies are in good hands. If you don’t buy this, you’re a monkey.”

“I had a story that had been building over the years where a member of Dragon’s supporting cast took over the world, and I was looking around for something out of left field to throw into the mix and after reading WANTED, it just seemed to click in my head what a perfect combination these two concepts would be,” said SAVAGE DRAGON creator, Erik Larsen. “Mark Millar has been an enthusiastic supporter of SAVAGE DRAGON for years and when I brought up the idea to him, he was more than happy to loan me his characters to play with. The combination is pure gold!”

Continued Larsen, “The nice thing about doing creator-owned books is that you can literally do whatever you want without fear of someone getting in the way or telling you what you can or can’t do. When I say that a world will shatter, characters will die and Savage Dragon’s world will never be the same, you’d better believe I mean it.

“In this case, Mark and JG Jones have been kind enough to let me work in Wesley Gibbons and The Fraternity directly from the midst of the original WANTED miniseries. It fits in beautifully and sheds new light on events only touched on in the original WANTED miniseries.”

A smackdown brawl that will excite loyal fans and new readers alike, SAVAGE DRAGON #128 is wall-to-wall story with a low cover price of $2.99! It will not only feature a variant cover painted by WANTED co-creator JG Jones, but the cover by creator Erik Larsen will be done in watercolors – a first for Larsen – as well.

“I’m thrilled to have the Wanted characters appear in the pages of SAVAGE DRAGON.” WANTED co-creator, JG Jones added, “I’ve been a fan of the Big Green Guy for years, so this definitely sets off my inner fanboy. SAVAGE DRAGON is absolutely the best monthly monster fight in comics. Hands down.”

SAVAGE DRAGON #128 (MAY061745) will be in stores July 2006 and is available for order in the May issue of Diamond’s PREVIEWS. Mark Miller and J.G. Jones’ WANTED miniseries is collected in a trade paperback (FEB058403) and is available now.

Join writer Paul Jenkins, Editor Tom Brevoort, and Associate Editor Cory Sedlmeier as they provide insight into the upcoming Civil War: Front Line series. This accompanying 10-issue series to Civil War covers all the ins, outs, and outcasts of the War-and the division it creates.

Helping to stir debate, Front Line’s “Embedded” story arc will cover the war from the point of view of two embedded reporters from rival papers. Meanwhile, the “Accused” story arc will address the consequences that face the lone survivor of the New Warriors who is blamed for the Stamford tragedy that was the catalyst to war.

Using extensive research of wartime journalism and soldier’s letters and diaries, Jenkins’s Front Line will prove to be the most realistic and provocative account of embedded journalists and entrenched heroes ever to be inked onto a comic book page.

Go to Marvel.com and listen to the podcast and hear what kind of Civil War backlash is brewing in the pages of Front Line.

Jam-packed with battles, betrayals, and cover-to-cover action, the 32-page (no ads!) 10-issue, bi-weekly Civil War: Front Line goes on sale June 7 for just $2.99 per issue!

Front line podcast