Comics

Renegade Arts Channel’s Evil

Published

11 years ago

January 16, 2013

Renegade Arts is collecting the four-issue Channel Evil miniseries from Alan Grant and Shane Oakley.

Channel Evil “follows Jez Manson, a local TV chat show host ready to exploit everyone in a bid to make the big time.After watching a successful medium channel a benign spirit, Jez invites her on his show, ready to ridicule her for cheap laughs and a few headlines. But Jez is persuaded to try channelling himself.Full of scorn, Jez agrees, planning to fake it, but it turns out that Jez is a natural and finds himself channelling Ba’al, an ancient source of evil.”

Press Release:
Renegade Arts Entertainment is pleased to announce the release of CHANNEL EVIL TRADE PAPERBACK, collecting the four issues of Alan Grant’s (Judge Dredd, Batman) and Shane Oakley’s (Albion, Cthulhu Tales) horror miniseries. This deluxe paperback collection also includes a new, never-before-seen strip, An Evening with Ba’al, written by Grant and illustrated by D’Israeli (Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Future Shocks).

Alan Grant on the genesis of Channel Evil:
‘The idea originally came to me while I was reading a book by a guy who had formed a “channelling” group to contact the spirits of the dead. I did some research and found that, although it’s ignored by the mainstream media, channelling has a huge audience all over the world. I wondered what would happen if, instead of channelling one of the boring spirits who advocate peace and love, somebody managed to channel the spirit of some long-forgotten scion of evil.

I used to own a flotation tank, it was soundproof, and totally dark. Once, when I was in the tank, I was thinking about a Batman story I was working on, which featured a villain known as Cornelius Stirk. Stirk suffered from severe mental illness, which he “treated” by cutting the still-beating hearts out of his victims and then consuming them. The thought suddenly flashed through my mind: “This is what I do for a living…and it’s evil!” Immediately, and to my terror, a disembodied voice said clearly: “You think that is evil? I can show you what evil really is!” Chills ran up and down my spine. I broke out in a cold sweat. I was out of that tank faster than a ferret up a drainpipe! When I’d calmed down and thought about it, I realised that – whatever the reality of what had happened – it was a brilliant base on which to build a story. I hope it frightens readers as much as it terrified me.’

Shane Oakley on Channel Evil:
‘Working with Alan is another ‘dream box’ I’m ticking off.We’ve been trying to get together on a project for over ten years and I’m still buzzing that we’ve finally got there. Alan’s scripts are great to work with, they’re lean and mean, he gets on with the story, doesn’t arse about or waste space.I love the idea it’s set at the English seaside, like a lot of kids (and grown ups) I had many day trips/weekends away in Blackpool, the place has a very seductive glamour, a glittering feast for the senses.

But it’s also a little grubby and seedy, which suits the personality of Jez and his show perfectly. And obviously, drawing nightmare scenes of horror and a big bad ass demonic storm god is a plus.’

Related Topics:Channel Evil Renegade Arts

Lonnie Nadler

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Comics

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

Published

2 weeks 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.