Kommiekomiks

NBM PUBLISHING DISCOVERS UNIQUE CRYPTOZOO CREW!
Bi-monthly comic solicited this month for January 2005 coming out party!

You may never  see a Thunderbird in flight. Or feast your olfactory senses on the pungent odor of the mysterious Florida Skunk Ape. But coming this January, you will have a chance to read a comic book with universal appeal. Now that’s rare indeed!

And for that reason, CRYPTOZOO CREW is a natural for NBM Publishing, long known for selecting and publishing comics with wide audience response. Readers join Tork Darwyn, a world famous Cryptozoologist, and his adventurous wife  Tara as they travel the globe solving the mysteries of legendary animals. Think “Crocodile Hunter meets Kolchak the Night Stalker” and you get the idea. But there’s a unique twist to this story, one rarely seen in the world of comics – WOMEN AND KIDS LOVE THIS BOOK TOO!

“The husband and wife interaction has drawn great responses from both sexes,” said artist Jerry Carr, whose clean style and sexy girl  next door heroine has endeared both seasoned comic fans and housewives alike. “And we’ve found out from the ashcan editions that this is truly a strip for all ages. It’s been wonderful to watch kids pick this up and buy it with their own money. We’re excited about bringing comics back to a larger audience!”

“CRYPTOZOO CREW came together like a perfect storm,” points out writer Allan Gross, “It combines my passions and experiences writing for children’s television, conspiracy theory comics (Doctor Cyborg), and newspaper adventure stories  (Tarzan). Not only does Tork track down these wild, unknown animals, he can often communicate with them. As for his wife Tara, well, she expects Tork to read her mind!”

More information on CRYPTOZOO CREW, a free sample story, and daily strips and informational “cryptid-bits” can be found at: http://www.cryptozoocrew.com. In  fact, CRYPTOZOO CREW was first launched as a free on-line strip at Insight  Studios http://www.SunnyFundays.com website and quickly garnered attention from comic shops, legions of fans of Cryptozoology, and webmasters of comic book related sites interested in increasing traffic.

Ashcan editions sold out at quickly at last years Small Press Expo and then again this year at Philadelphia WizardWorld and the San Diego Comic Convention. There have also been stories produced for the MORE FUND and EVEN MORE FUND CBLDF anthologies. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Readers like the straightforward  single-issue stories with character-driven plots and punch lines. Each book will feature 2 complete stories. No getting bogged down in continuity!

But what has been truly amazing has been the variety of sources taking notice! Even before the publishing agreement with NBM was announced, one major comic shop volunteered to help promote the book, writing to say, “We were wondering if it was at all possible to get advance copies, or posters, or anything really, as we would really love to push this book. You know, it’s not often we do this – in fact, this is the first letter I’ve written like this! Actually, we’ve already started hyping it – some customers already ask if it’s out yet, every week.”

And it’s a phenomenon that has caught the attention of those outside the comic book industry through the wonders of the Internet. The Cryptozoology message boards are already abuzz with talk about the new CRYPTOZOO CREW. One fan said, “This has been the MOST enjoyable read I have come across in a LONG LONG time.” Cryptozoology is a diverse and growing field with a tradition of enjoying both good science and great fiction!

Others on the Internet were not content to merely read the strip. They began to use the “Tooncasting code”, which allows then to run the strip (updated automatically on a daily basis) on their own personal pages. The first fan started only three days after the strip was launched! She said, “I just put it on my website. I hope you guys keeping popping these babies out, they’re so cool!” And others sites soon followed, including GEMSTONE PUBLISHING and COMICWIDOWS.

When not running a story, the on-line strip still features fun and informative “Cryptid-bits” describing the characters and strange creatures to appear in upcoming story lines. This daily entertainment and presence on the Internet will amplify the buzz between issues of the regular series. This series has more legs than the cryptids that Tork and Tara track down!

CRYPTOZOO CREW appeals on a number of levels. It is suitable for all ages, but still great fun for adults. Men enjoy the adventure and Jerry’s good girl art, while women see Tara as the real hero of the story as she often has a great deal of fun at Tork’s expense. But she sticks with him through thick and thin as he tracks down the legendary Cave Monkey or chases the blood-sucking Chupacabra. Ultimately, there’s only one creature whose secrets Tork will never unravel, and that’s his lovely wife!

TRIPPIN’ WITH FRANKENSTEIN MOBSTER

TRIPPIN’ WITH FRANKENSTEIN MOBSTER Image Comics Hit Teams Up for Travel to Transylvania
Mark Wheatley has announced that his Image Comics hit, Frankenstein Mobster, will be making the real life journey to Transylvania.

With Halloween just a few weeks away, a group of dedicated night owls are gathering for the ultimate Halloween adventure: one full week of haunted horror happenings in Transylvania!

Billed as “DraculaTour” and now in its seventh year, a professionally-guided, fully-escorted journey is set for Romania’s famous (or infamous) Transylvania region, October 27 through November 3, 2004. Travelers from all over the U.S. will be partying for a week of fear-filled fun and festivities under the theme of a “vampire vacation.” And their vacation now includes Frankenstein Mobster.

Charles F. Rosenay, who runs the DraculaTour, said copies of Frankenstein Mobster will be included in the trick-or-treat bags all tour participants receive.

“We’re always looking for ways to reach readers outside our traditional audience,” said Mark Wheatley, “and Transylvania is definitely pretty far outside our traditional audience. It seems like a great fit.”

Travelers on the tour will actually follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Harker’s trail from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. They spend time in ancient Bucharest ascending the Carpethian Mountains to Vlad Castle. They visit medieval Sighisoara, birthplace of Dracula, as well as climb up eerie Clock Tower with time for the nearby gruesome Square History Torture Museum. All participants journey through Borgo Pass to Dracula’s Castle to experience the definitive Halloween eve –Masquerade Ball, Vampire Show, Bonfire, Dinner and “Monster Mash” Dance Party right in Dracula’s Castle! It’s scary, spooky but most of all, fun.

“This is the kind of thing that I think Frankenstein Mobster readers will enjoy, and Frankenstein Mobster has the kind of odd and somewhat whimsical horror that the folks on the tour should love,” Wheatley said.

Couples, families and single travelers all take this trek of terror. For the third year in a row, there is even one couple getting married in Dracula’s Castle. This year’s tour is the first time all participants will receive a travel goodie bag, which will include horror film posters, magazines, DVDs and copies Frankenstein Mobster.

Dracula Tour is a $3300 value for only $1699 per person including airfare from N.Y., $1999 including airfare from L.A., based on double occupancy. Package price includes round-trip airfare to Bucharest, deluxe hotel accommodations, transfers, luxury coach ground transportation, all events – attractions – admissions and of course, copies of Frankenstein Mobster! Space is limited.

For those who can’t go this year, or can’t ever go during Halloween, the tour organizers have scheduled a similar version of this haunted travel adventure for July 11-18, 2005. As a special treat, the guest host for that tour is actor Butch Patrick, TV’s Eddie Munster.

To read about past vampire vacations, or for any additional information, visit the website:

Frankenstein Mobster, which is concluding its acclaimed original story arc “Made Man,” is available bi-monthly from Image Comics, . The online Frankenstein Mobster comic strip is also presently running on  in addition to Imagecomics.com, Wheatley’s Sunnyfundays.com and many other websites.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Set Black Sails For IDW Publishing

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Set Black Sails For IDW Publishing
Vampires, Pirates, and Horror On The High Seas

San Diego, CA (Date) IDW Publishing is very proud to announce that they are working with Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips to publish their creator-owned miniseries, Black Sails.

Black Sails mixes high adventure and horror in a vampire tale like no other. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the creative team behind the hit comic Sleeper, cast a three-issue tale of mysterious vampire pirates with an intriguing hook: these men are manning the very ship on which Dracula himself once sailed.

In Black Sails, Depression-era coastal towns are terrorized by a mysterious ship that sails only by night, drifting in with the fog, and leaving bloody waters in its wake. Brubaker’s moody and horrific story follows a darker path than readers are accustomed to seeing from him, and Phillips’s textured artwork is again the perfect complement to his prose. The series should hit your port in Spring of 2005.

“Working with Sean has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my career, and now to be continuing that partnership on work we own, at a company that I feel puts out some of the most beautiful packages on the shelves, is just perfect,” said Brubaker. “Black Sails is an idea that just hit me out of the blue, and seemed like the perfect way to start a relationship at IDW, bringing what we do to a genre they’ve done very well with, and giving it a twist that I’ve never seen done before. Of course, I immediately sent my idea to Sean, and by way of his acceptance, got back a color rough of his first cover idea.”

Chris Ryall, Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing, added that “Ed and Sean are among the best creative teams in comics today, and I couldn’t be happier that they’re bringing a book like Black Sails to IDW. People are really in for a surprise here—this is unlike anything they’ve done before.”

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

ARTESIA WINS BEST SELF-PUBLISHED COMIC SERIES AT 2004 DIY BOOK FESTIVAL

Archaia Studios Press (ASP) Press Release
For Immediate Release

ARTESIA WINS BEST SELF-PUBLISHED COMIC SERIES AT 2004 DIY BOOK FESTIVAL

Fort Lee, NJ — October 5, 2004 — Archaia Studios Press (ASP) is pleased to announce that the 2004 DIY Book Festival has chosen Artesia as the best entry in their self-published Comics and Zines category. Specifically, the entire Artesia collection (Artesia, Artesia Afield and Artesia Afire) was voted as the category winner at this year’s festival, announced last week. This is the third award Artesia has won this year, following the Gold in ForeWord Magazine’s 2003 Graphic Novel Book of the Year Award and BrokenFrontier.com’s Paper Screen Gem for Fantasy Award.

The DIY Book Festivals consider self-published or independently published works in a variety of categories and are part of a series of annual festivals sponsored by L.A.-based DIY Conventions that look for the best in self-published and self-produced literature, music, photography and film . The winners were selected by a panel of publishing industry experts and were required to meet a single criterion: General excellence that exhibits the author’s passion for telling a good story.

Also, in a bit of product placement news, keep an eye out for Artesia comics and trade paperbacks making a possible appearance in next year’s New Regency/Fox film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The film is being described as a spy adventure-romance in which Pitt and Jolie play John and Jane Smith, an ordinary suburban couple with an ordinary, lifeless suburban marriage. But each of them has a secret — unbeknownst to each other, they are actually both legendary assassins working for competing organizations.

According to Mark Smylie, creator of Artesia: “Apparently the character played by Brad Pitt reads and collects comics, and the production company has asked to use issues of Artesia as part of the set dressing in a scene or two. So if Lady Luck smiles, we might get to see Artesia lurking in the background as part of Mr. Smith’s comic book collection…”

Written and painted by Mark Smylie, Artesia is a comic book rich in fantasy, mysticism, and mythology, an epic and strange tale of war and magic set in the strife-riven realms of the Known World. Artesia ($24.95, ISBN: 1-932386-00-9, 192 pages), Artesia Afield ($24.95, ISBN: 1-932386-02-5, 192 pages) and Artesia Afire ($24.95, ISBN: 1-932386-08-4, 240 pages) are available at finer bookstores and comic book shops everywhere. A new roleplaying game, Artesia: Adventures in The Known World, (ISBN: 1-932386-10-6, Stock# ASP1010, $29.95, 192 pages, full-color, 8.5″ x 11″) is slated for a December 2004 release.

ABOUT ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS (ASP)
Mark Smylie founded Archaia Studios Press (ASP) in 2002 as the home for his epic fantasy comic book, Artesia. Artesia was first published by Sirius Entertainment beginning in 1999 and was followed by the sequel series Artesia Afield. Artesia Afire, the third installment in the Book of Dooms, is the most recent storyline and the first one published under the ASP label. The next installment, Artesia Besieged, is slated for a spring 2005 release.
COURAGEOUS MAN JOINS THE FIGHT AGAINST DIABETES

COURAGEOUS MAN JOINS THE FIGHT AGAINST DIABETES
Super heroes save lives and now, here’s your chance to be heroic, as well! This year at MID-OHIO-CON, when you make a donation of $5.00 or more to the CHARITY JAR, you not only get to help fund the work of the American Diabetes Association, you get a copy of George Broderick, Jr.’s COURAGEOUS MAN ADVENTURES, signed by creator George Broderick, Jr.

“I love Mid-Ohio-Con! I’ve helped raise money for Diabetes education & research in past years, and am pleased to be doing so again,” claims Broderick, “especially, for their twenty-fifth anniversary show! Roger Price and his crew always put on a great, family-friendly show! They ROCK!”

“I can think of no better way to help celebrate this milestone,” Broderick continues, “than by continuing a tradition started by my collaborator, Chris Yambar, and myself, several years ago and offering a signed comic in exchange for a charitable donation… and having my character, Courageous Man as a ‘spokesman’ seems very appropriate! CM is all about courage, as his name implies, and people dealing with diabetes (especially children) must show their courage daily. Now, the fans have a chance to demonstrate the ‘courage of their convictions’ and help battle this serious disease…it’s the perfect kick-off to the Christmas season, the season of giving!”

Courageous Man Adventures is a throwback to the early days of the Silver Age of comics (with a 21st Century sensibility) when men were men, villains were vile and caption boxes were unwieldy enough to cripple a charging bull elephant – the African ones, of course, not those runty Indian jobbies. Yes, evoking images of the sanitized, code-approved 50’s and early 60’s is what Courageous Man is all about! All-ages fun in the classic mold… Huzzah! But, bring your thesauruses, because in Townburg City, they don’t accept American Express, and they don’t suffer monosyllabic Gen-X wastrels!

The 25th annual Mid-Ohio-Con will be held November 27 & 28 at the Hilton Columbus: Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio. For more about the show, including a full guest list, ticket info and more, go to: http://www.midohiocon.com.

IDW Publishing To Release Will Eisner’s John Law: Dead Man Walking

IDW Publishing To Release Will Eisner’s John Law: Dead Man Walking
Collection of Classic John Law Adventures and New Stories Arrives in December

San Diego, CA (9/23/04 Comicdom’s master craftsman Will Eisner and his classic hero John Law return in John Law: Dead Man Walking, a collection of all-new stories and classic tales. Award-winning writer/artist Gary Chaloner was contracted by Eisner to develop all-new adventures featuring his pipe-smoking, one-eyed Crossroads cop, John Law.

These stories, the first original John Law adventures since Eisner worked on the character in 1948, will be available in print exclusively from IDW.

This special 80-page collection will be available in both a softcover collection as well as a limited hardcover volume. The special hardcover edition will feature a numbered tip-in plate signed by Will Eisner himself. The book includes both Chaloner’s new material and classic John Law tales by Will Eisner. Every page of art has been lovingly re-toned by Chaloner to capture Eisner’s full noir stylings.

“John Law: Dead Man Walking is a terrific book that is worth the wait,” said Ted Adams, IDW’s President and Publisher. “I’m anxious for readers to see the amazing work by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner. I know they won’t be disappointed.”

John Law: Dead Man Walking is a black and white and graytone, 80-page trade paperback on sale in December 2004, with a retail price of $14.99.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

IDW Publishing To Paint It Black With Silent Hill
Monsters, Cheerleaders, Guns, and More Monsters Collide To Cause Trouble

Painter and semi-professional slacker Ike finds this out the only way guys like him ever find anything out—the hard way. Ike finds his dark muse in the mist-enshrouded, monster-infested reaches of Silent Hill. Then along comes the very sexy, survivalist-trained, gunslinging cheerleader Cheryl and her teammates to shake things up in a very different way. Before Ike knows it, creatures attack, cheerleaders disappear, and the situation escalates from there. Ike can only pray this is all a bad dream.

Ike’s journey is the basis for Silent Hill: Paint It Black, the next installment of IDW Publishing’s successful spin-offs based on Konami’s smash-hit video game. This latest chapter is again written by Scott Ciencin, returning for his third tour of duty at Silent Hill. The art is by Shaun Thomas, who also illustrated the last 48-page Silent Hill installment, Silent Hill: Among The Damned.

“The Silent Hill universe continues to be an endless source of inspiration for us here at IDW,” says editor Kris Oprisko. “With Paint it Black, Scott and Shaun are presenting what may be the most chilling glimpse yet inside the evil that abides there. You’ll want to read this one with the lights on!”

Silent Hill: Paint It Black is a full-color, 48-page one-shot on sale in February 2005.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

Konami became the nineteenth Japanese company listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange on September 30, 2002. Starting with the production of amusement machines, Konami has evolved into a corporate group involved in five business arenas, namely, “Computer & Video Games,” “Exercise Entertainment,” “Toy & Hobby,” “Amusement” and “Gaming.” These five businesses, in addition to being strongly competitive in their respective areas, generate synergistic effects among themselves. Konami marked its 30th anniversary on March 19, 2003.

Swallow—It’s All About The Pictures!

Swallow—It’s All About The Pictures!
Ashley Wood’s Swallow Brings The Best In Art Together

San Diego, CA (December 2, 2004) Ashley Wood is one of the most acclaimed illustrators in comic books. His work on Popbot and art books like Grande Fanta have garnered him numerous fans and awards from both the art and comic communities. Now IDW Publishing is very pleased to announce that they will be presenting Swallow: Book One. Swallow is a magazine devoted to modern illustration and the artists that produce it.

The debut issue of Swallow features some of the biggest names in modern illustration, as well as amazing new illustrators you need to discover! The first issue features work by Ash himself, along with George Pratt, Celia Calle, Jeremy Geddes, Phil Hale, Team Kitten, Mike Huddleston, and many more.

“This is the magazine I always want to find when I hit the racks, but don’t,” says Ashley Wood. “Great modern illustrators, extended folios—no single illustrations here! Lots of pictures, that’s what Swallow is about, period!”

Swallow is the perfect opportunity for fans of progressive art to check out lavish artwork that can usually only be found in a gallery. The different styles that are brought together under these two covers will be a feast for the eyes. Ashley Wood’s art has been a cornerstone to the foundation of IDW Publishing’s emphasis on exciting new art styles in the comics world.

Swallow: Book One is a full-color, 120-page magazine on sale in February 2005.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and

IDW Publishing To Collect Sword Of Dracula

IDW Publishing To Collect Sword Of Dracula
It’s Dracula As You’ve Never Seen Him

San Diego, CA (December 1, 2004) Dracula has been around for hundreds of years. You’ve seen him in just about every type of story and situation… until now.

It’s Dracula with bigger powers, bigger weapons and bigger danger. Think Black Hawk Dracula! This trade paperback collects all six issues of “Season 1” of Sword of Dracula, in which readers first meet Ronnie Van Helsing, the commando who must use every Humvee, chopper, motorcycle, and machine gun at her command to capture Dracula, the most dangerous man on Earth. And then she has to enlist his aid in fighting an even greater horror.

“Ronnie has been the most surprising part of Sword of Dracula’s success,” said creator Jason Henderson. “We expected people to be pleased by a fresh, hard-target Dracula, but it’s been our lead, Ronnie, that people write to me about and draw pinups of. This is as much her story as Dracula’s.”

Sword of Dracula is wall-to-wall vampire/commando/zombie action. Season 1’s success propelled the series into mainstream media, with exposure from CNN, Variety, the Boston Globe and the SciFi Channel. This special “writer’s cut” collection is full of extras, too, including a six-page “Issue 0” and a 15-page “Sword of Dracula Scrapbook,” featuring commentary, artist discussion, concept art and pinups. The entire collection is contained within a brand-new, incredible wraparound cover from Eisner Award-winning artist Tony Harris.

Creators Henderson, Greg Scott, William Belk, and Tony Pallot join forces to make this the most thrilling Dracula tale ever presented in comics.

“Cinescape called Sword of Dracula ‘one of the coolest reinterpretations of Bram Stoker’s character in years,’ and I couldn’t agree more,” said IDW Publishing’s Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. “And Jason’s assembled such a great array of extras for this trade that even fans who’ve read the entire miniseries are in for a special treat. And then there’s that Tony Harris wraparound cover to stare at for hours on end…”

Sword of Dracula is a black & white, 156-page trade paperback on sale in February 2005.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

Creator Henderson is also the creator of the ghost-hunter series Soulcatcher and co-creator with Greg Scott of the “romantic magic comedy” series Sylvia Faust, colored by Leslie Barkley. Henderson has published five novels and screenwritten for numerous computer games, including most recently Deus Ex 2. The comic’s Web site is at , where readers can search for local retailers or order copies online.

CRYPTOZOO CREW’s Unique Take on Censorship!

Cryptozoologists search for unique animals, so it’s only logical that the CRYPTOZOO CREW team would create such a creature to represent the threat of censorship. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) has teamed up with Allan Gross and Jerry Carr from NBM Publishing’s upcoming imprint with a special limited edition print. The print and the original artwork, available through a benefit auction at the Mid-Ohio Comic Convention (November 27-28), will help support the CBLDF’s campaign against censorship. Cryptozoo Crew creators Allan Gross and Jerry Carr will be on hand for the event.
The image shows CRYPTOZOO CREW’s main characters. These include Cryptozoologist Tork Darwyn, his adventurous wife Tara and one of the Cryptozoo Crew, a rare New Zealand Cave Monkey, all in the clutches of a three-headed monster representing censorship. It is done in the style of a political cartoon. All the proceeds from the print and the art auction will go to the CBLDF. CRYPTOZOO CREW will be issued on bi-monthly basis starting in January 2005. This was a satisfying image for the CRYPTOZOO CREW team to create.

Author Allan Gross, an outspoken Libertarian feels very strongly on the subject, particularly the role of the media in censorship today. “Just the fact that no third party candidates were part of the recent Presidential debates speaks volumes,” he points out, “I’m a great believer in personal responsibility, and one should gather their own facts on the candidates, but the role of the media is so powerful today that omissions can be as destructive as blatant censorship.”

Artist Jerry Carr was also passionate about this project. “We’ve chosen to do CRYPTOZOO CREW as an all ages book,” he explained, “But I still feel it is critical to protect our industry from a few whacked out uptight people that can’t understand art. If they would just look at solving their own internal issues, I think they’d be more tolerant and understanding. It really rankles me — hey, I almost missed my deadline on the first issue of the book to get this print done! That’s how important it was to me.”

The CRYPTOZOO CREW comic reflects this passion in its characters. Readers join Tork Darwyn, a world famous Cryptozoologist, and his wife Tara as they travel the globe solving the mysteries of legendary animals, like thy Yeti or the Loch Ness Monster. Think “Crocodile Hunter meets Kolchak the Night Stalker” and you get the idea. Tork is serious about pseudo-science, and even more serious about saving the unknown animals he discovers.

But there’s a unique twist to this story, one rarely seen in the world of comics – if the responses to the recent ashcan previews are any indications — Women and kids LOVE this book too! Women love it for the “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” interaction between Tork and Tara, while kids have been enamored with the fun adventures of Tork with the creatures he encounters. Truly it is an all ages and “all sexes” book. For that reason, CRYPTOZOO CREW is a natural for NBM, long known for selecting and publishing comics with wide audience response.

24 And Agent Jack Bauer Return In 24 Stories

Drugs, Chechens, And A Very Dark Agenda
San Diego, CA (October 29, 2005) Following this summer’s successful 24: One Shot, IDW Publishing will return to the world of Jack Bauer and CTU in early 2005 with 24 Stories, the second one-shot based on the hit TV show.

24 Stories answers some of the questions that have been in the minds of fans of the popular Fox show since the start of the third season. In their second 24 tale, returning writers J. C. Vaughn and Mark Haynes tell a tale about Jack’s early days undercover with the Salazar drug cartel. Chechen separatists have taken control of a high-rise in Los Angeles and Jack must find a way to take them down without blowing his hard-earned cover.

24 Stories follows the unique format of the first 24 one-shot, presenting a different hour of Jack’s day with every two-page spread in the book. This ticking-clock method only adds to the story’s tension, as Vaughn and Haynes present Jack and CTU with an ever-more-desperate and tense situation.

“Jack Bauer is one of the most compelling characters on television or in comics,” said Mark L. Haynes. “This story highlights how the medium of comics is perfect for the continued exploration of Jack’s universe, providing current fans and new readers alike with all the twists and turns they expect from 24.”

Co-writer J.C. Vaughn added, “The first time out, we started with Jack’s first day on the job at CTU. Now we’ve got him hip-deep in drug addiction and caught in the middle of an unrelated and very bad hostage situation, so it’s just another average day at the office for Jack Bauer and company.”

This time around, artist Manny Clark add his craftsman’s touch to 24, offering a photo-realistic style that exudes action and emotion with every panel.

24 Stories is a full-color, 48-page trade one-shot on sale in January 2005.

About FOX Licensing & Merchandising
A recognized industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising licenses and markets properties worldwide on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Twentieth Television and Fox Broadcasting Company, as well as third party lines. The division is aligned with Twentieth Century Fox Television, one of the top suppliers of primetime entertainment programming to the broadcast networks.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

IDW Publishing and Clive Barker To Release The Thief Of Always Comic Adaptation

For Immediate Release
Contact Beau Smith 304-453-1050
IDW Publishing and Clive Barker To Release The Thief Of Always Comic Adaptation All-Ages Tale Shows The Whimsical Side Of Clive Barker

San Diego, CA (October 28, 2004) Master of horror Clive Barker’s The Thief Of Always is a fable appealing to horror and fantasy fans young and old. Now, IDW brings you its own lavishly illustrated adaptation of the thrilling tale.

In The Thief of Always, adapted by Kris Oprisko and Gabriel Hernandez, Mr. Hood’s Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It’s a place of miracles, a blissful round of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied… for a price, as young Harvey Swick comes to learn.

“I’m delighted that this story, which was my first venture in writing for children, will now find a new audience through this beautiful new edition,” said The Thief of Always author Clive Barker.

“Clive is an amazing author, and all his skills are brought to bear in this amazing tale,” says writer Kris Oprisko. “The Thief of Always packs all the thrills and scares you’d expect from Clive, while at the same time perfectly capturing a child’s sense of wonder.”

Clive Barker’s The Thief of Always will be published as three bi-monthly, full-color, 48-page issues starting in January 2005.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

Searching for a Way Out in Next Exit

 

Where does your mind go when it wanders? In Next Exit, a new comic book series by Christy Lijewski coming in November from SLG Publishing, that place is Alkaline, a world built on dreams and memories. Retrab and Markesh are trapped in Alkaline, and they’re after what everybody else is after, too: an exit. A map that Retrab wins in a chess game just might point the way to one, but she and Markesh must travel through Alkaline’s bizarre cities and terrain in order to find it. The two find themselves tangling with wacky dream logic, monsters, scantily-clad lady mayors, and the sinister powers-that-be in Alkaline, all the while building a close friendship.

“I have exceedingly vivid dreams,” Lijewski said, explaining the idea behind Next Exit. “I wake up and can remember everything that happened. However, it usually doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I like the idea that a world made of memories wouldn’t totally make sense to an outside viewer, just like dreams don’t make sense once you wake up.” Lijewski was also inspired by Alice in Wonderland, another story set in a dream-land. “I wanted the chance to write a story that would allow me to create my own Wonderland-ish world,” she said.

Lijewski first explored Alkaline in “Doors,” a story she entered into TokyoPop’s Rising Stars of Manga contest. She won honorable mention with it, and decided to develop it into a whole comic book series. “I realized I had so much more that I wanted to do with the story,” she said, “and so much more I wanted the characters to experience. I had barely scratched the surface of the world and wanted the chance to actually tell the whole story as I’d intended it.”

Manga is an obvious influence on Lijewski, who admires the wide variety of stories and art styles encompassed by that label, but she doesn’t feel that Next Exit is manga. “I’m a pasty white girl who draws comics — not manga — and I’m not trying to say otherwise,” she said. “I draw in a style I’m comfortable with, and I hope people who are usually turned off by manga can realize that and maybe give my comic a chance anyway.”

SLG’s editor-in-chief Jennifer de Guzman doesn’t think that will be a problem. “Christy has a very kinetic art style to go along with Next Exit’s story, which is at times fast-moving and frenetic and at other times quiet and poignant,” she said. “It’s a story that’s completely accessible and engaging because it’s fun and has emotional resonance. Christy knows how to play up those elements in a way that’s charming and not in-your-face obvious.”

The first issue of Next Exit is slated for release on November third, and the comic will published on a bi-monthly schedule. A preview of the series is available at SLG Publishing’s website, www.slavelabor.com.

Established in 1986, SLG Publishing is a San Jose, CA-based publisher of comics books and graphic novels. Operating under its imprints Slave Labor Graphics and Amaze Ink, SLG Publishing has distributed the work of such notable cartoonists as Jhonen Vasquez, Evan Dorkin and Andi Watson.

Blood-Stained Sword Drips Red At IDW Publishing

For Immediate Release
Contact Beau Smith 304-453-1050

Blood-Stained Sword Drips Red At IDW Publishing

Dan Wickline and Ben Templesmith Slash You With Intrigue

San Diego, CA (October 26, 2004) Now and then, the word “innovative” pops up in a press release. Most of the time it’s just hype.

Not this time.

Creators Dan Wickline and Ben Templesmith have combined sci-fi action, technology, and the code of the Samurai to bring the readers Blood-Stained Sword, a film put to print.

In a dark and grim future drunk on high technology, the ways of the past have not been completely forgotten by everyone. Kenji has been trained as a Samurai, sworn to uphold the code of the true warrior. Now he faces the greatest challenge of his life; clearing his father’s name.

He must travel to Seattle, where corporations have replaced clans and greed has won out over honor, to find out the truth behind his father’s death and bring in those responsible.

About the story’s development, Wickline said, “I’ve always been fascinated with the samurai, not just from a historical point of view, but as a way of life. Their code of honor makes them the perfect protagonist for any story, whether they are on horseback or hover-bike.”

Blood-Stained Sword features 30 Days of Night co-creator Ben Templesmith further expanding his artistic repertoire with this tale of violent enforcement of the Samurai honor code. The story by Wickline (Metal Hurlant) features cinematic action and the dialogue is crisp and memorable. This book promises to be one of the sleeper hits of the year.

Blood-Stained Sword is a full-color, 48-page one-shot on sale in January 2005.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

IDW Publishing Presents Eric Red’s Masterwork—Containment

For Immediate Release
Contact Beau Smith 304-453-1050

IDW Publishing Presents Eric Red’s Masterwork—Containment

In Space, You Can’t Stop Zombies, You Can Only Hope To Contain Them

San Diego, CA (October 27, 2004) How can you beat zombies in space? How can you top having Eric Red, screenwriter on the horrifying vampire movie Near Dark, creating a comic book where astronauts are millions of miles away in outer space, trying to fight off flesh-eating zombies? You can’t, so you just sit back and enjoy every creepy moment of it. Eric Red’s Containment is a five-issue miniseries that will join Red, whose past film credits also include The Hitcher and Blue Steel, with noted artist Nick Stakal (Hyde) in a tale that will leave you breathless.

On a manned NASA space ship millions of miles from Earth, a terrifying malfunction occurs in the cryogenic hypersleep pods containing the hibernating astronauts, turning most of the crew into the violently brain-dead. As the handful of surviving astronauts awaken intact from their artificial slumber, they find they must contend with not only murderous zombies but also their own hidden agendas and increasing feelings of isolation and distrust.

“If there’s one thing Eric has done well in his movies, it’s to ratchet up the tension his characters face. And things don’t get much more tense than being trapped on a spaceship with zombies on board,” said IDW Publishing’s Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. “Nick really helps communicate every bit of the horror and isolation the astronauts face through his moody, expressive art.”

Eric Red’s Containment is a full-color, 32-page, five-issue miniseries beginning in January 2005.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

WATSON TACKLES DIAPERS, DADS AND DRAMA IN NEW ONI MINI

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ­ November 2, 2004
WATSON TACKLES DIAPERS, DADS AND DRAMA IN NEW ONI MINI

Oni Press is pleased to announce the February debut of LITTLE STAR, a rollicking six-issue drama comic from the creator of Oni’s critically acclaimed LOVE FIGHTS and BREAKFAST AFTER NOON. This all-new series returns Watson to familiar ground–the interpersonal relationships that drive us and define our lives. But while BREAKFAST AFTER NOON examined the ups and downs of a romantically involved couple and their changing world, LITTLE STAR looks at a different type of bond–one between father and child.

“I really wanted to tell a story from the father’s perspective,” Watson commented. “Simon Adams experiences the dirty diapers and sleepless nights along with the joy, panic, and the occasional cute moment. It seems like whenever fathers are characterized in fiction they’re either incompetent or absent. I wanted to present a more accurate picture.”

“LITTLE STAR is another fine example of Oni’s ‘real mainstream’ sensibility,” said Oni Press editor in chief James Lucas Jones. “You won’t find anything else like it in comics, but parenthood is a subject constantly tackled by books and movies and television. Andi is mining classic yet fertile territory and the results are both touching and tickling.”

The format is also a familiar one for Watson and Oni Press. “We’ve been doing a lot of graphic novels lately,” Jones explained. “But Andi’s just so adept at the serial. He knows how to pace a 24-page comic, making each a satisfying experience while still leaving the reader hungry for the next installment. As nice as it is to have the book on your shelf, there’s something equally special about a series of well-crafted comics.”

The first issue sees Simon staggering through a world of pee, poop, and puke as he fills the role of caregiver. The late nights, the early mornings, the exhausting days–other dad’s don’t necessarily understand the work each new dawn holds for poor Simon, and the moms? They know, but they just laugh. Is this what it’s like for everyone?

“Simon is a lot of things, but alone is not one of them,” Watson concluded. “His experience is universal. If I do my job right, readers will know his joys, chuckle at his misfortunes, and empathize with his frustrations. People should recognize the Simons around them and with any luck that’ll make the experience of LITTLE STAR that much more enjoyable.”

LITTLE STAR #1 will feature 32 pages of black-and-white story and art, with a full color cover. With a cover price of $2.99, it will ship to comic book stores in February 2005. Future issues will ship on a bimonthly basis.

Thank you for your interest in FM International, Inc. We are the second largest distributor of comic books and related material in the United States. We are always looking for new product to offer our retailer base, be it comics, books, toys, videos, or something completely new. This letter is to give you a little background on how we do business. Almost everything we discuss here is relevant to comic books so if your product needs special attention please let us know. We will work with you to meet your needs.

The most important information we need from you is a letter stating the terms of sale. This would include what price you will sell to us, which is traditionally 60% off of the cover price. (With you getting 40% of the cover price). Who pays the freight from the printer to us, which is the usually the publisher, and terms of payment. These are normally 30 days from the day of receipt of the books.

We also would like a photocopy of the book or the finished book if it is available. This way we can read it and get a feel for the best way to market your product. We would also like a brief synopsis of the story as you would ideally like to see it listed in our monthly catalog. A piece of black and white art is also very helpful as we will try to use it in the catalog with the description.

Finally, there is the timing. Since we pre-sell everything we offer, we need to offer the books three months in advance of the release date. For example, in August we are working on the November catalog which we mail out the first week of September. So if your book is shipping in November, we need the information by August 10th. If your book were shipping in December we would need the information by September 10th. If it is shipping in January we will need the information by October 10th, etc. We always try to send you our purchase orders for the number of copies that we will need no later than the 15th of the month prior to it’s shipping. For example, if your book is shipping in November, we will try to have a purchase order to you by October 15th.

These are the basic guidelines we work under. We are always willing to work with you if you should have any special needs. If you think you have missed a deadline at any point, please call; we may have time to squeeze in that last product. (But you will be taking a risk since at times we can not fit anymore in).

Thank you very much for your interest in FM International, Inc.

Little Book of Horror: Frankenstein by Steve Niles and Scott Morse is First Volume of Unique Hardcover Horror Series
San Diego, CA (December 30, 2004) The old cliché of good things coming in small packages was never so wrong. It should read: Big, scary things come in small packages. In March, IDW Publishing is going to get spooky with not only their format, but the story as well.

Little Book Of Horror: Frankenstein is the first in a series of specially sized, hardcover collectible classics. In this special re-telling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, writer Steve Niles (Wake The Dead, 30 Days Of Night) works from the original text of the historic novel, presenting the tale in prose excerpts. To fully breathe new life into this story, each full-page spread will be accompanied by a painting from award-winning illustrator Scott Morse.

The Little Book of Horror series will tackle Bram Stoker’s Dracula next. Subsequent volumes will cover horror properties new and old, melding full-page illustrations with prose into a new form of graphic literature.

“Remember those old Cliff’s Notes from school?” queried IDW Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. “Well, consider the Little Book of Horror series beautifully illustrated, well-written, and scary, versions of those old primers. Everything you’ll need to know about classic horror books and movies will be presented on the pages of these little hardcovers.”

Little Book of Horror: Frankenstein, a full-color, 48-page 6” x 9” HC, will be available in March.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

IDW Publishing and Popbot Offer Fans an Unexpected Gift

Bonus DVD Included With Every Copy of Second Popbot Collection
San Diego, CA (December 17, 2004)—Popbot fans will be treated to a special DVD included inside Popbot Collection Book 2, arriving at comic shops later this month.

Ashley Wood’s Popbot has a rabid following of fans. So rabid, in fact, that last year IDW entered into a partnership with Sideshow Collectibles to develop a Popbot polystone statue. The statue, a prototype of which debuted last summer at Comic-Con International in San Diego, makes its debut in February 2005. But before that, fans can take a close look at the statue through a free DVD included inside the second Popbot collection.

The second Popbot Collection was originally solicited as just containing the second act of Popbot, the wonderfully warped epic from the mind of Ashley Wood. But the early response to Sideshow’s statue—which also features Kitty, too—was so promising that IDW and Sideshow assembled this special DVD for inclusion in the book at no extra cost.

On the DVD is an extended close-up look at the statue, as well as some behind-the-scenes comments from IDW Publishing President, Ted Adams, Sideshow Collectible’s VP of Creative Services, Tom Gilliland, Popbot statue sculptor James Hakola, and, of course, Ash himself. All of the interviews are contained within a special episode of Geee Bob, hosted by none other than Popbot co-star “Andy Warhol.”

The creation of a statue based on the vision of Ash Wood is something that many thought could never be done successfully. Now, people can see not only the successful end result, but also the craft and collaboration that went into creating such a product.

Popbot Collection Book 2, a full-color, 154-page trade paperback with bonus DVD, will be available at the end of December, order # OCT042788.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

Since its inception in 1994, SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES has been a specialty manufacturer of licensed and proprietary collectible products that reflect a passion toward creating unique, highly sought after figure collectibles, as well as film prop replicas and fine art collectibles. The Sideshow artisans are renowned sculptors, experienced model makers, painters and costumers, whose collaborative efforts result in intricately detailed likenesses of popular characters, including film and television monsters, villains, heroes and mystical creatures of fantasy, as well as legendary figures from history. Sideshow artisans have regularly distinguished themselves for their ability to achieve a level of authenticity seldom seen in the figure collectible arena.

Sideshow is the premier source for highly collectible figures, statues, busts, framed art, prop replicas and film-study maquettes. Sideshow products are available online at: sideshowcollectibles.com, sideshowfineart.com, as well as through specialty and collectible shops, comic book stores, other specialty retailers and via collectible web sites worldwide.

BUCKAROO BANZAI Has been acquired by Moonstone!

Yes, that wacky 1984 movie starring (Oscar nominees & Emmy winners) Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, and Jeff Goldblum is back!
Buckaroo Banzai is a fiendishly clever action-packed adventure/comedy/drama in an outlandish world you’ll want to visit again and again!

Buckaroo is part neural surgeon, part rock star, and some “pulp hero” tossed in for good measure!

Moonstone’s new book will be a NEW TALE of Buckaroo written by the character’s very own creator (and the movie’s screenwriter) Earl Mac Rauch!

The interior art will be handled by (“Star Wars”) Stephen Thompson. (the cover art is TBA)

With the guidance of the film’s director, W.D. Richter, the Buckaroo Banzai color mini series will continue the bizarre trail blazed by the film.

BUCKAROO BANZAI: a bold, titillating mix of particle physics, rock and roll, super-sonic speed machines, handsome men, beautiful women, and villains beyond redemption.

BUCKAROO BANZAI: if he’s not one thing, he’s another.

Movie reviews:

“Hip! Imaginative! An offbeat sci-fi adventure with humor from every dimension!” –Hollywood Reporter

“Buckaroo doesn’t just think he’s a hero, he really is one, complete with tour bus, numerous sidekicks and his own comic book. He’s a renaissance man for the 20th century, demonstrating supreme confidence in his chosen career—he’s the sort of hero the world could use more of.” –SciFi.com

“…you’ll find Buckaroo Banzai a delicious and funny piece of sci-fi with the same appeal that the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series has long held. From its goofy hero to crazy dialogue…” –FilmCritic.com

“This insanely great little film has carved out a nice little niche for itself due solely to word of mouth by the rabid fans who refuse to let a good movie die.”- DVDreview.com

Jhonen Vasquez and SLG to Amaze You in March

SLG Publishing
PO Box 26427
San Jose, CA 95159-6427
For more information, contact Dan Vado [email protected]

Holy Niblets! What Is That?!
Jhonen Vasquez and SLG to Amaze You in March

Like the mighty grizzly shaking off his wintry torpor and emerging from his lair in spring, or the majestic phoenix rising from the ashes in cliché-like fashion or, in all likelihood, much more like an indomitable army of ghoulish reanimated dead roused from their graves by a mad genius whose insatiable desire for power, or probably just for a harem of short-haired hot girls in black-rimmed glasses, has led him to horrific acts of dark magic, or — well, look, you’re just going to have to make up your own simile for this amazing event, for I am too overcome with emotions that one cannot speak of in polite society. Just take care to ensure that your words are grand enough to convey the pure majesty and glory of this thing that has returned to us and is once again gracing the pages and annals of comics, this thing in the form of a little flesh nugget of stinking open sores, filthy pink fur and endless weeping that “they” call Fillerbunny.

That’s right, children. Critically-reviled master something-or-another Jhonen Vasquez has returned from his trip around the solar system and is once again plotting his evil little designs on the world of comics. And how better to set his nefarious plans in motion than with Fillerbunny, a suffering creature originally created to fill a single page and whose existence was mercilessly extended to fill two sixteen-page comics, each one drawn over the course of one day? That’ll work, right? Oh, you doubt, but this time, my sweetlings, this time, it is Fillerbunny in My Worst Book Yet!, 24 pages of torment and horrible excretions, two of them in mind-blowing FULL COLOR. And Jhonen took more than one day to finish it! You will see Fillerbunny as you’ve never seen him before, quite possibly consistently drawn and with fine details that make him seem so real and make his pain all the more pitiful. “Why?” you will ask. “Sweet lord of corn, WHY?!”

All this can be yours in March 2005, when SLG Publishing will risk the wrath of God by publishing this affront to man and nature. Fillerbunny in My Worst Book Yet! will be all you’ve come to expect from Jhonen Vasquez and more… so much more. So you’ll have no problem paying the measly $2.95 it takes to make it YOURS.

“Truly it is my masterwork.” said Vasquez of his unholy creation. “Let the people rejoice, for I have returned to the realm of comics, much to the dismay of all but ten, maybe twelve people. It is both a joyous, and yet sad time, as I feel much like Peter Jackson must have felt upon completing his Lord of the Rings trilogy…only this is not part of a trilogy, and people hate me.”

“What, you want me to say something else about this horrid little book? But look at all that up there! Did that not convince you of how awesome it is?” SLG’s editor-in-chief Jennifer de Guzman said very wearily and very, very seriously. “All right: it’s vile, and it probably will make you vomit. But because you’re a sick wretch, it’ll make you laugh, too. That’s what you want, right? I know it is because I tell you what you want.”

Fillerbunny in My Worst Book Yet! is available for pre-order now from Diamond Comics and other distributors and will be in stores in March 2005. Get thee to SLG Publishing’s website, www.slavelabor.com, to see a preview.

IDW Publishing Expands Popbot’s World in March

IDW Publishing Expands Popbot’s World in March
Ashley Wood Is Joined By Adam Warren And The Biggest Names In Comics

San Diego, CA (December 29, 2004) Ashley Wood’s Popbot has proven to be one of the most talked-about series amongst discriminating comics fans. Ash Wood’s impressionistic style has inspired many young artists within the industry, and now some of those artists are getting their chance to pay tribute to Woods’ robotic creation and his Kitty, too.

Popbot Reader offers fans a unique treat in this special one shot dedicated to Ash’s wonderfully twisted world. This special edition contains a brand-new Popbot story penned by Adam Warren, with art by Wood himself. It also includes a gallery featuring images of Popbot by some of the biggest names in comic art.

A feature on the upcoming Popbot polystone statue from Sideshow Collectibles is also included in this must-have comic.

“Popbot Reader features awesome pics by Mike Mignola, Kent Williams, Bruce Timm, Duncan Fedgredo, Adam Warren, Jeremy Geddes, Sam Kieth, David Choe, Chris Bachalo, James Daly, and many other top artists,” enthuses mastermind Ashley Wood.

Popbot Reader, a full-color, 48-page comic, will be released in March.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi

Get Your Supernatural Freak On With Cal McDonald And IDW Publishing

Get Your Supernatural Freak On With Cal McDonald And IDW Publishing The Monster-Hunting Gumshoe Returns to IDW In March
San Diego, CA (December 28, 2004) In March 2005, your favorite hard-drinkin’, hard livin’, monster-hunting private dick, Cal McDonald, brings his pill-popping comic book exploits back to IDW Publishing.

Cal McDonald, the creation/alter ego of writer Steve Niles, previously appeared at IDW in novel form. Niles penned three Cal prose books, Savage Membrane, Guns, Drugs and Monsters, and Dial M for Monster. Now he’s bringing Cal’s comic book exploits home to IDW, too, in the form of the six-part Supernatural Freak Machine: A Cal McDonald Mystery. This time out, Cal and his ghoulish partner Mo’Lock face a prison break that signals the return of Dr. Polynice, last heard from in Savage Membrane. Throughout the course of the story, Cal also gets himself a new ride… or does the ride get its latest victim? That remains to be seen.

Niles once again teams up with artist and master craftsman Kelley Jones to bring the readers back into the twisted world of Cal McDonald, the most addled private eye ever to fill a monster full of holes.

“What I’ve always wanted with Cal was an artist, a partner who gets him,” said Niles. “I have that now with Kelley Jones and I can’t wait to see where Cal McDonald winds up.”

Supernatural Freak Machine: A Cal McDonald Mystery, a full-color, six-part miniseries, debuts in March.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister

HOLIDAY FACELIFT FOR SUNNYFUNDAYS.COM

Insight Studios Group Website Gets New Strips
Better than Botox! INSIGHT STUDIOS is bringing new strips to all the good little boys and girls who come to SunnyFundays.com for their daily dose of online entertainment. Starting December 20th, the Sunny Fundays will feature new continuing stories, new one-shots, and a host of holiday features, such as the FRANKENSTEIN MOBSTER’S “FRANKENSTEIN SANTA” holiday greeting card and the CRYPTOZOO CREW’S “TWELVE DAYS OF CRYPTIDS”. Feel free to sing along! CRYPTOZOO CREW has been a popular web strip and will be following this up with a bi-monthly comic book from NBM Publishing, with the first issue due out in January.

HOLLYWEIRD is a new ongoing daily strip being premiered on the Sunny Fundays by entertainment executive Mark Simon. It takes a sarcastic and skewed view of the movies from behind the scenes. The comedy is derived directly from true events, either from Simon’s experience, or Hollywood lore. Mark has worked in the entertainment industry for 19 years, with a background in live-action and animation production, directing, designing and effects, so he’s seen it all!

In the holiday spirit, there will also be an exciting adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” done by up and coming “Insighter” Tim Wallace. Tim will tell the story in 4 weeks. If this whets your appetite for the holidays, let filmmaker Robert Tinnell cook up Christmas dinner with his recipes from his delicious FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES strip.

Meanwhile, straight from the recently published OUTPATIENT graphic novel, Image Comics’ DOCTOR CYBORG will be running “Time’s Tower”. In this bizarre month-long episode, Malcolm Syberg discovers an invisible boy named “Invisi-billy”, a cult of futuristic scientists who have outlawed ties and a culture where political correctness has gone homicidal.

All this and more this holiday season at the Sunny Fundays. And don’t worry if you’ve missed a few days. The archives provide you with TIVO-like on-demand 24-hour service.

Insight Studios Group, headed by Mark Wheatley, creates comics for other publishers and also publishes books, comic books, and on-line daily and weekly comic strips under its own imprint. In addition to the recent Image Comics hits Hammer of the Gods and Hammer of the Gods: Hammer Hits China, Insight has played home to Naked Brain, Jimgrim and the Devil at Ludd, Titanic Tales, and Al Williamson Adventures. Visit www.insightstudiosgroup.com and http://www.sunnyfundays.com.

IDW Publishing Exposes CSI: Secret Identity In A New Series

IDW Publishing Exposes CSI: Secret Identity In A New Series
Crime Comics Veteran Steven Grant Pens His First CSI Tale

San Diego, CA (December 8, 2004) There is nothing routine about murder and death. Each body leaves its own fingerprint and trail of clues. That’s why the CSI team treats every one like it was the first murder they investigated.

When a tourist is murdered in a cheap off-strip motel, the investigation seems surprisingly routine—but there’s nothing routine about any murder, especially when things get complicated by a missing videotape and an imploded Vegas casino.

The trail of evidence points to a man who died twice and left two different corpses, immersing Gil Grissom and the CSI team in a quagmire of deceit and treachery that stretches back 20 years—and still threatens them today!

This is the first chapter of an all-new five-issue miniseries based on the top-rated CBS crime drama. Noted crime comic book writer Steven Grant (The Punisher) begins his run on this tale of death warmed over. Grant, a Las Vegas resident, is one of the industry’s best at writing mystery/crime with a modern slant. Gabriel Rodriguez and Steven Perkins (CSI: Dominos) once again handle the art on this intense heart-stopping series that offers the same flavor and style that accompanies all of IDW’s CSI comics.

“This is the first chance I’ve had to write about Las Vegas since I moved here, and so much more goes on here than most people realize,” said writer Steven Grant. “It’s the most unique city in the world, a place where dreams and passions collide daily, a place where chance rules, and I really wanted to get that aspect across. Though I’m no stranger to crime fiction, it’s an exciting challenge to measure up to the best crime show on network TV. So I’ve tried to amp things up a notch or two. The story will keep readers guessing, just like it keeps the CSI team guessing.”

CSI: Secret Identity is a full-color, 5-part miniseries on sale in February 2005.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequels, Dark Days and Return to Barrow; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde. Paramount Pictures has optioned the movie rights to Aleister Arcane.

CBS Consumer Products, a division of CBS Enterprises, manages the Worldwide licensing, merchandising and video activity for CBS Enterprises and King World Productions, Inc.

For more information about CSI – go to the CBS Website

Cold Cut Distribution is the industry’s leading reorder distributor for quality independent comics.

We offer instant reorders on thousands of titles from more than 200 different independent publishers, all at competitive reorder discounts that often match or beat the prices available from other distributors. But more importantly, we have the books in stock in large quantity, available now for immediate delivery – there is no need to wait for back orders which may or may not be filled. Everything from Battle Royale to Johnny under one roof, including T-Shirts, CDs, and other ancillary merchandise!

Prime Catalog 2004 Available!
The all-new COLD CUT PRIME 2004 CATALOG is available! Weighing in at a hefty 112 pages this catalog lists everything currently available from Cold Cut! The Prime Catalog contains:

The “Main Menu” – a line-by-line, alphabetical listing of all merchandise available from Cold Cut (divided into adult and non-adult sections)
Hundreds of books you can’t find anywhere else in our comprehensive “Not Available From Diamond” Section, with dozens of descriptions and illustrations
Goth Comics – An alphabetical listing of our top-selling goth and goth-related items (such as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Squee, Lenore, Serenity Rose, Bear, Emily the Strange, Writhe and Shine, and many more)
Manga Trade Paperbacks – A separate alpabetical list of all manga graphic novels available through Cold Cut (including Viz, Tokyopop, ComicsOne, Gutsoon, and more)
Kid-Friendly Comics – A brief listing of some of the best comic books and graphic novels for younger readers.
T-Shirts and Other Merchandise – A separate list of t-shirts, DVDs, Toys, Compact Discs, and other non-printed merchandise
Regular Cold Cut customers received a copy of the Prime in the mail or in a shipment during April. If you are not a regular Cold Cut customer and would like to receive a printed version of our Catalog, please contact us and we’ll send one to you right away!

Retailers can also download the entire Prime Catalog in PDF format. The catalog is broken up into different sections, and can easily be downloaded from our web site onto your personal computer as PDF-format pages. Text-only versions of many of these sections will be available in the near future.
COLD CUT OFFERS ADVANCED ONLINE ORDERING

Retailers can now place orders using Cold Cut’s industry-leading Online Ordering System, featuring a powerful shopping cart and an immense selection of cross-referenced information about the thousands of comics we carry. Easy links and search forms let you find books based on creators, genres, titles, publishers, product types, series, arrival date, even best-seller status and whether the item is available through Diamond or not!

Other advanced features include the ability to upload order files and to view the status of your current backorders. There’s no easier way to order, 24 hours a day, from our constantly-updated inventory. Be sure you get the right item (or the right size of T-shirt) by entering the orders yourself and having our automated system email the order codes to our invoicing system. To access the Online Ordering System, please login from our Retailer Information Page.
To sign up to order online, you must be a current Cold Cut retailer. Just email us, or call us toll free in the USA at 1-866-4-COLD-CUT to get a login and password, and you’re set to go online!