Comics

[Give It A Kickstart] 44 Flood Launches ‘TOME 2: MELANCHOLIA’

Published

11 years ago

June 26, 2013

Last year, 44 FLOOD, a new company started by Ben Templesmith, menton3, Kasra Ghanbari, and Nick Idell, launched a Kickstarter campaign for their first annual edition of their anthology series “TOME”. The first volume focused on the theme of vampirism and was crowd funded in under 24 hours. The product was a beast of an art book featuring work from some of the best artists in the world. It truly is a magnificent sight to behold and it is a testament of the passion these guys put into their projects.

The gang at 44 FLOOD has just launched the Kickstarter for “TOME 2: MELANCHOLIA”, and it’s already well on it’s way to being successfully funded. The book is planned to be 12×18″ and 200 pages with an inserted music CD. The list of artists involved is just insane (see it on their campaign page). As always, the backing options are wicked including original artwork and prints from the artists involved.

From the Kickstarter:

TOME is a biennial anthology in an oversized format showcasing world-class and emerging artists from diverse disciplines as they explore a single, esoteric theme. TOME is made by artists with artists for the artist within us all.

The book is a massive 12×18″ and 200 pages with an inserted music CD! This large format lets the art be presented and experienced in a way that would be almost impossible outside of standing in front of the original work itself.

For TOME Volume 2, we will focus on the theme of MELANCHOLIA, the condition more akin to the alchemical phases the psyche passes through for our individuation and evolution…aka NOT depression or mourning, but something far more essential and ultimately beneficial to us all. The artist is born into a state of inspired MELANCHOLIA and exists within it. They bring back their experiences to us, providing those images, symbols, and light posts for our collective benefit, so that we may learn and not have to go through what it is that they have gone through. Our belief is that this influences the collective in a deeply meaningful and critical way, that this determines a society and culture’s ultimate health, well-being, growth, and relevance.

Featured Artists in TOME 2 will each have 6-8 pages to present to us their “Hero’s Journey” taken on our collective behalf. The works presented in TOME 2 will be a meticulous selection of pieces by artists leading up to a current piece or pieces that they’re working on, completing a compressed arc in an attempt to at least in part represent their individual journey, discoveries, and resolutions to date.

And as part of each Featured Artist’s contribution, they’ll have an interview or discussion with another artist to continue the articulation of their artistic exploration as related to the theme.

Our goal at 44FLOOD is to get you involved through this Kickstarter campaign to help make TOME 2 a reality, just like you did so incredibly with TOME Volume 1! We’re asking for your support through pre-ordering TOME 2 and it’s companion book EXPLICITUS EST LIBER 2 at a big discount to their retail price, as well as purchasing the offered art and prints, selecting from the special rewards offered, or even making a donation.

Thank you so much for your time, consideration, and support!

Lonnie Nadler

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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

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

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.