Sean Phillips partners with BOOM Studios

This May BOOM! Studios brings you a World War II epic like no other with 7 PSYCHOPATHS, written by Fabien Vehlmann and interior art by CRIMINAL co-conspirator Sean Phillips.

With World War II in full swing, there’s only one way to draw the war to a quick end: kill Hitler. But who would be insane enough to try? One person knows just the men to do it. Insane? Psychotic? Mad? Call them what you will, but the 7 PSYCHOPATHS are now the only hope the world has!

“7 PSYCHOPATHS is probably the most difficult story I’ve ever drawn,” said artist Sean Phillips. “Nine or ten panel pages, having to find reference for everything I had to draw, drawing a type of story I’d never tackled before, it was hard work. Many times I wondered if it was worth the effort. Then I started to receive jpegs of Hubert’s coloured pages, and it was definitely worth it. He’s made it look like a book drawn by someone who knew what he was doing! It seemed as if I could do Fabien’s great story justice after all.”

7 PSYCHOPATHS #1 hits shelves in May, is written by Fabien Vehlmann and features cover and interior art by Sean Phillips. For more information about this and other great titles please investigate BOOM! Studios on the web at www.boom-studios.com.

Dan DeCarlo’s Archie is Back

Starting in May 2010, a dean of Archie artists will be showcased in his very own series, kicking off an extraordinary series of important Archie collections from IDW Publishing. Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo Volume One offers the very best of this classic and influential artist, gathering strips from the mid 1950s through the early 1970s.

“As a long-time DeCarlo fan, I am very excited about this series, as well as the rest of IDW’s Archie books,” said IDW chief operating officer, Greg Goldstein. “This is an amazing property that has influenced generations of people around the world, and this is the first book to specifically showcase Dan’s amazing art.”

Coming of age in World War II era-America, Archie captured the hearts of young and old alike. Archie and his friends remain hugely popular today through an appealing blend of timeless, humorous stories and classic Americana. Dan DeCarlo spent nearly 50 years with the characters of Riverdale High, drawing every character at one time or another. Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo Volume One contains dozens of stories handpicked by DeCarlo connoisseurs, all newly scanned from rare original art and recolored to capture the flavor of the original comics.

This is the first in IDW’s “Best Of” series, which will grow to include collections of Bob Montana, Harry Lucey, and Stan Goldberg, among others. “It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a great fan of Dan DeCarlo’s work,” said IDW Special Projects Editor, Scott Dunbier. “His classic style inspired and influenced scores of artists and entertained countless fans.”

Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo, Volume One ($24.99, full color, hardcover, 156 pages) will be available in stores in May 2010. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com. For more information about Archie Comics go to www.ArchieComics.com

Max Brooks enlists with IDW for new GIJOE series

The critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of World War Z, the Zombie Survival Guide and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks brings his unique and acclaimed style to G.I. JOE comics with a five-issue miniseries: G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds, coming in May under license from Hasbro. The award-winning Max Brooks crafts a G.I. JOE series for an America at war, starkly contrasting intensely brutal portrayals of the dark side of the human condition with the light of hope in the most unlikely places.

“I tried to write a series as harsh and complicated as the times we’re living in,” said Brooks. Exploring the effects of real-world war on the individual, every issue of G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds features two chapters, with each spotlighting a different G.I. JOE or COBRA character. Brooks pulls no punches from the very beginning, starting the series with chapters on Major Bludd and Spirit.

“This is the G.I. JOE book that isn’t about action figures. It’s about people like you and me,” said IDW G.I. JOE editor Andy Schmidt. “And that makes it even more chilling than any zombie novel could be, because this one isn’t about a plague—this one is about us.” Brooks’ dark stories are masterfully brought to life by artists Howard Chaykin and Antonio Fuso, who will each also provide covers. In addition to the regular edition, IDW will be offering a limited number of signed editions.

An award-winning writer, Brooks has brought his own unique style to both TV and print, including as part of the writing team for “Saturday Night Live” for forty episodes from 2001 to 2003, which won an Emmy in 2002. Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide was released in 2003 and has sold well over one million copies worldwide. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War followed in 2006, became an instant bestseller and is currently in development to be a major motion picture.  Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, Brooks’ most recent book, debuted at number one on the New York Times graphic novel bestseller list.


G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds #1 (of 5, $3.99, 32 pages) will be available in stores in May. Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

Stan's Back with a BOOM

POW! Entertainment and BOOM! Studios announced a deal has been struck that will see the production of a series of three superhero titles presented by Stan Lee. These series will premiere from BOOM! Studios later this year.

BOOM!’s Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid, creator of BOOM!’s runaway hit series IRREDEEMABLE and its smash sister book INCORRUPTIBLE, will be writing one of the series. Two other series will follow, featuring A-list writers as a part of the creative team. Further announcements will clarify the teams and the timing for the roll-out.

This past December, POW! announced that Walt Disney Studios had entered into a first-look deal with POW! and currently has a number of projects in development where it is working closely with the world-renowned Lee.

The revelation of Stan Lee’s presenting a series of three superhero titles at BOOM! follows on the heels of a viral marketing campaign announcing “Stan’s Back” that hit the internet early last week. Across major comic book news sites and blogs last week, ads appeared teasing “Stan’s Back.” The L.A. Times’ Hero Complex & L.A. Times’ Brand-X also got in on the action, running the “Stan’s Back” campaign in print and on their respective website. All the banner ads linked back to www.stansback.com, a site which had only the “Stan’s Back” logo and nothing else disclosing additional information.

For one week, the internet was in a frenzy with comic fans everywhere trying to figure out what could the “Stan’s Back” teaser campaign mean. Today it has finally been revealed - Stan Lee is back, presenting a comic book series for the Direct Market comic specialty market that Lee was instrumental in fostering.

POW! Entertainment and BOOM! Studios had no further details at this time.

IDW launches new A-TEAM comics

In anticipation of the summer movie event The A-Team, starting in March, IDW Publishing, in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox Licensing), will launch two A-Team comic book series, entitled A-Team: Shotgun Wedding and A-Team: War Stories. The original stories penned and inked by some of the industry’s biggest names, will give fans an in-depth look at the upcoming action-adventure from Twentieth Century Fox – The A-Team – which will hit theatres June 11, 2010. Each series will be available as single issues in March and April, and collected into individual graphic novels in May.

“Like many, I was a huge fan of the original A-Team television series in the 80’s,” said A-Team comic editor and co-writer Tom Waltz.  “I’m happy to report, after reading the new movie script, the updated A-Team movie has all the wit, swagger and kick-ass action of the original series, but tells a story much bigger than was possible on the show.  For our comics, we’ve worked directly with the filmmakers to build a solidly action-packed foundation for a new generation of A-Team fans.”

“This comic project is the ideal collaboration between the studio, the production, the filmmakers and the publisher maximizing everyone’s talents for the best product. IDW has demonstrated their ability to bring on some of the best writers and artists in the comic book industry and work closely and effectively with all the constituents. The A-Team has a huge following and these comics, much like the upcoming film, contemporize this enormously popular action-adventure franchise and deliver fresh, compelling stories and art to the fans,” said Virginia King, Vice President U.S. Sales for Fox Licensing & Merchandising.  

Taking inspiration from the eagerly anticipated feature film – The A-Team – the comic book series provides the back story for the characters in the film and documents several of the team’s first missions. War Stories features four stand-alone, bi-weekly issues that each focus on a different member of the team, offering details of their Desert Storm adventures as Army Rangers before each joins The A-Team.

Co-written by comics great Chuck Dixon (G.I. JOE) and Erik Burnham (Nanovor: Game Day), the series kicks off with Hannibal and B.A. in March, followed by Face and Murdock in April.  Each team member’s story will feature a different artist in order to best bring out every character’s individual personality.  Hugo Petrus (Marvel Illustrated) will provide interior art for Hannibal, and Casey Maloney (G.I. JOE: Rise of Cobra) tackles B.A. in March.  In April, Alberto Muriel (Legion: Prophets) revives Face, followed by Guiu Vilanova (After the Fire), who delivers Murdock. Fan-favorite artist Michael Gaydos (Alias) will provide covers for every issue. “I was a devoted A-Team fan from the first episode and love all of these characters. Pure action and excitement,” said Chuck Dixon.  “I jumped at the chance to join Erik and work on this property and it’s been better than expected. The dialogue and characterizations came so naturally to me, it was scary.”

Also starting in March, A-Team: Shotgun Wedding, a bi-weekly four issue series, gives fans a taste of the team’s missions after they’ve officially formed The A-Team.  This original adventure, co-plotted by the movie’s director, Joe Carnahan, and Waltz (who also handles the scripting) follows the team from frigid Alaska to sunny San Diego and onto a wedding cruise that becomes utter chaos. Artist Stephen Mooney (Angel: After the Fall) adds heat to every explosion,  while John K. Snyder III offers eye-catching covers.


Please visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.