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Peek Inside the Pages of Issue #2 of Eibon Press’s ‘Maniac’ Comic Book, Available Now

Published

5 years ago

on

Available now in a Standard Edition. Signed VHS Box Edition and “Psycho Fan” Personalized Set, the second issue of Eibon Press‘s 3-issue comic series set in the world of William Lustig’s Maniac not only continues the story of sweaty slasher Frank Zito, but it also begins the cross-over between Maniac and Lucio Fulci’s The New York Ripper!

Eibon’s Stephen Romano teases the new issue, “The whole MANIAC comic series was something we really wanted to do on an artistic level. This wasn’t a business decision. We weren’t looking at demographics or whatever and saying “oh this will be a big hit!” We wanted to do this adaptation because it’s kind of a unique movie in the 1980s horror slasher pantheon. In the wake of Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN, you had all these movies that were about the victims, which is great and we love that. It’s as it should be. We need to identify with the survivors of these massacres, in order to have any empathy. But if I am honest as a writer and also as a survivor of violent crime myself, what interests me more is what goes on inside the heads of people who actually do these crimes. I don’t identify with them, obviously, but I want to know what makes them tick. To me, that’s true horror.”

“Frank Zito is an uncomfortable creation in that way. We are forced to KNOW HIM in the film, because he is the main character, and it’s not a worldview we like. So for the comic book, we take it all a quantum leap further and really get inside his head. In Issue 2, we go pretty far with that, and he meets up with his one true love, Anna D’Antoni, as played by Caroline Munro in the film. In the comic script, she is expanded and deepened and her relationship with Frank is darker and more complex. I always wondered why those two hit it off so well in the movie, and we answer that question here.”

“Of course, what the fans REALLY want in issue #2 is what we’ve been teasing for over a year now, and that’s the MANIAC VS. NEW YORK RIPPER battle. That was also fertile fields for exploring real horror, and in that case we deal more with the psychology of the victim, and how each killer perceives her. They are each obsessed with the same girl, and she is doomed of course, but the fascinating thing is both Frank and The Ripper think they are the heroes of their own lives. Everybody does. Even these sick, deranged lunatics who to all these despicable things. When you start really getting into the psychology of that, you start really getting scared. And that’s what this series is all about.”

Check out an exclusive page from Issue #2 below, and grab your copy from Eibon Press!

Issue #3 of Maniac, the final chapter, will be available in December.

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Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

6 days ago

on

April 18, 2024

By

Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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