Comics
Exclusive Behind The Scenes Look At ‘Skullkickers’
Skullkickers has been causing quite a ruckus at Image comics over the past year with relentless fast-paced action, ridiculous characters, and brilliantly colored pages. This book takes from every fantastical genre you could imagine and combines them into one outrageous book filled with goblins, undead corpses, and werewolves. Writer Jim Zub has given BD an exclusive behind the scenes look into his brutally hilarious series, and the epic 4-page spread is truly something magnificent to behold.
After the jump, Zubkavich takes you through the entire creative process, from full scripted pages, to layouts, to final lettered pages, plus some insightful commentary that you won’t find anywhere else. For anyone interested in breaking into the comics field, this is some very insightful and inspiring stuff. Skullkickers Treasure Trove Vol 1 is available in stores as of today, and it comes highly recommended.
After 2 issues of action and banter, issue #3 opens up with our two merceneary monster mashers chilling out a bit. I wanted to start opening up broader concepts about the world, hinting at some of the larger ridiculous themes that I thought about exploring if the mini-series was extended past our initial 5 issues romp. Thankfully, we did just that and are currently on our third story arc, pushing the Skullkickers onwards to bigger and crazier adventures each time.
The dwarf has procured a pot of poisoned stew. His dwarven constitution will help him survive its effects, but it will also leave him with a peyote-esque dream of something which may or may not be real.
Unlike a lot of our other issues where the momentum is constant, this scene builds up the strangeness as the stew starts to take effect. I love the moment-to-moment transitions as the dwarf realizes something just isn’t right with that night sky.
The 4 page spread of the visions (printed in the issue as two 2 pagers, but here in all its glory) was such a weird and wild rambling script
that Edwin actually asked me to help him figure it out compositionally. I doodled a couple quick sketches of the overall sweeping look and added a quick breakdown of the elements so it would all make sense.
The cover to issue #3 was simple in its approach. I asked Chris to draw the boys overwhelmed by zombie-skeletons, fighting their way through the mass. As expected, he delivered it in spades.
Comics
‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics
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.
4 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘Late Night with the Devil’ at Home
‘Ready or Not’: Radio Silence Filmmakers Tease the “Absolute Banger” of a Sequel That’s Taking Shape
“We Built Every Creature” – ‘Alien: Romulus’ Goes Heavy on the Old School Practical Effects!
‘Sting’ Review – Throwback Creature Feature Entertains With an Impressive Practical Monster
‘Terrifier 3’: Filming Has Wrapped on Damien Leone’s Christmas Slasher Sequel!
You must be logged in to post a comment.