Comics

[ECCC ’14] Skybound Takes Flight Panel

Published

10 years ago

March 28, 2014

Robert Kirkman’s Skybound label of Image comics held a panel this morning at ECCC ’14 that featured some of thier hottest talent, Joshua Williamson, Joe Keatinge, and Paul Azaceta. They covered upcoming announcements for books like “Techjacket,” “Ghosted,” and the much anticipated horror possession series, “Outcast.” They also debuted the poster for the first Skybound film production, Air. Hit the jump for all of the news.

Things kicked off with some news about Kirkman’s own “The Walking Dead.” All out War will be ending in a month. Everything on the cover to the last chapter actually happens. After All Out War, there is “A New Beginning” with issue 127. A new female lead on the cover, she seems heavily featured in the covers up until 130. Issue 127 is double sized. They commented on the speculation about who everyone is, and where the regular cast is, but refused to shed any light on the ideas.

Outcast brings the end of life, as we know it. This is Azaceta’s first ongoing book and first dive into horror. The look develops along the way. It’s a different type of horror from The Walking Dead. The book will be less in your face, and more moody and atmospheric. Yet, there is still a promise of blood and gore.

Techjacket digital was a resounding success bringing back the character of Zach Thomson. Originally Kirkman wrote Techjacket as a precursor to Invincible. The digital series took off with a binge reading experience written by Joe Keatinge. So, July launches new Techjacket ongoing. The panel was greeted with a special message from the artist Khary Randolph. The series has a huge manga influence; the approach is all about catching up to Zach’s situation. Keatinge wants to put the series into a larger world with manga influenced cosmic, interstaller story that spirals of control. The series hits July 2nd.

Ghosted was announced at ECCC 2013. Issue nine comes out next month. Williamson talks about the second arc. Series protagonist, Jackson is trying to rescue a girl from the brotherhood of the closed book. He thinks they are kidnapping possessed women. When he finds the girls, they aren’t prisoners, they’re princesses. When their possession starts to reveal itself, they are forced to write demonic books of the dead. The bloodcrow cover for #10 was shown. Something horrible happens in issue 10, and in 11-15 Dan Pinogio will take covers, Jackson is fucked. Issue 11 is a flashback where Anderson goes undercover with a biker gang and sees Goran coming back, in July.

Manifest Destiny real life expedition of Louis and Clark killing monsters to clear for the expedition. The sales are climbing, and haven’t stopped. Keeping awesome momentum. Arc two is about taking on river monsters, taking on the big myths and making them horrifying.

They briefly spoke about AIR, the first Skybound film production with Sony. Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou star, and is executive produced by Robert Kirkman. Not much else was revealed, but the all black poster with a title treatment.

Zac Thompson

Click to comment

Comics

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

Published

1 week 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.