The Darkness

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

Darkness #100 - Variant

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

Darkness #100 - Variant

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

Darkness #100 - Variant

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

The Darkness #100

Top Cow Productions and Image Comics proudly announced today that Darkness #100, the landmark anniversary issue, will land in stores February 29^th, 2012.

The over-sized 100^th issue follows hot on the heels of the release of The Darkness II video game from 2K Games and Digital Extremes. Long time writer PHIL HESTER (Wonder Woman, Green Hornet) concludes his epic run on the series with artists ROMANO MOLENAAR (THE DARKNESS II : CONFESSION), LEANDRO OLIVEIRA (Superman), and JOSE LUIS (PILOT SEASON: SERAPH). The landmark 100^th issue will set the stage for David Hine (THE DARKNESS: FOUR HORSEMEN, BULLETPROOF COFFIN) and Jeremy Haun (ARTIFACTS, DETECTIVE COMICS) as they bring THE DARKNESS into Top Cow’s REBIRTH initiative.

“Why couldn't they have hired someone else? Anyone else? I've been successfully pulling the wool over Darkness readers' eyes for years now, and the second they get a look at what David Hine is up to they're going to forget all about my dog and pony show,” Hester commented. “Don't believe me? Crack open Hine and Kane's BULLETPROOF COFFIN and see one of tomorrow's classics while it's fresh, then get in line behind me for The Darkness #101.”

As Darkness bearer, Jackie Estacado is on a collision course with the source of his power and misery — the Darkness itself! Estacado has traveled through numerous levels of the Darkness’ home dimension in his quest to confront his patron, all the while the Darkness has sought to bind him, distract him and prevent him from reaching it. Now only one of them will walk away from this momentous battle that has been building for years!

Featuring covers by Image luminaries TODD McFARLANE (SPAWN) and MICHAEL GOLDEN (The ‘Nam, SPAWN), alongside THE DARKNESS series artists JEREMY HAUN (Detective Comics) and MICHAEL BROUSSARD (ARTIFACTS).

The over-sized 48-page The Darkness #100 issue will be on sale in stores and digital platforms on March 21^st, 2012 and will carry a cover price of $4.99. To commemorate this achievement, the issue will also feature a complete series cover gallery, a Darkness timeline, the winners of the Darkness II deviantART contest, and a special preview of Darkness #101.

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

The Beauty Wins Pilot Season

Top Cow Productions, Inc. is proud to announce that the winner of the Pilot Season 2011 event is Jeremy Haun’s and Jason Hurley's THE BEAUTY.

THE BEAUTY beat out seven other competitors to take the Pilot Season crown in the most competitive voting period in the history of Pilot Season. This year saw the adoption of elimination-style voting as titles competed over three rounds to determine the overall winner. At the deadline, nearly one million votes total had been cast by fans for the Pilot Season 2011 titles. Other Pilot Season 2011 contenders included THEORY OF EVERYTHING by Dan Casey, Nick Nantell, and Thomas Nachlik; ANONYMOUS by Matt Hawkins, Alan McElroy, and Michael Montenat; MISDIRECTION by Filip Sablik and Chris DiBari; THE TEST by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rahsan Ekedal; SERAPH by Lance Briggs, Phil Hester, and Jose Luis; FLESHDIGGER by Shannon Eric Denton, Brad Keene, and Alex Sanchez; and CITY OF REFUGE by Morgan Davis Foehl, and Dennis Calero.

In the world of THE BEAUTY, a new STD spreads across the world, but this is a disease you want to catch. It makes all infected people unspeakably attractive. But after the world's face-lift, two detectives discover some nasty, undesirable side effects. Will the world decide to stay beautiful at an unspeakable cost, or resign themselves to an ordinary-looking life?

With THE BEAUTY having been declared the official winner, the creative team will now work with Top Cow's editorial department to plan out the full series.

"Now that we've won we're going to be able to finish the story. I'm really excited to do that. It's exciting to be co-writing and drawing something like this," said Haun. "The process is surprisingly fast and a hell of a lot of fun. The trick of it is going to be balancing work on The Beauty with my regular art duties on The Darkness monthly book. Luckily, they're both books that I absolutely love. It also doesn't hurt that I just love to work. As crazy as it may seem, drawing two books is kind of my idea of fun.”

"Winning Pilot Season is easily the biggest moment of my career so far, and I couldn't be happier. It was a hard-fought battle, but thanks to all of the fans of The Beauty, we came out on top," exclaimed Hurley. "I can't wait to get back to work on the book. We've got a lot of exciting stuff planned for the future of The Beauty, and since we've won Pilot Season, we'll be able to share all of that with our fans. More than anything, I just want to send a huge thank you out to all of our family, friends, and fans for their support throughout the entire voting process. It's thanks to them that we're able to continue The Beauty."

This PILOT SEASON, the fans came out in full force, crashing the first poll several times for the chance to vote for their favorite 2011 Pilot Season one-shots. Pilot Season is an annual initiative Top Cow began in 2007, inspired by a concept from the television industry: a number of “pilot issues” are submitted for consideration to be “picked up for a season,” except instead of TV executives deciding their fates, it's the fans!

Previous winners of Pilot Season include: CYBLADE, VELOCITY, TWILIGHT GUARDIAN, GENIUS, and 39 MINUTES. The CYBLADE, VELOCITY, and TWILIGHT GUARDIAN series have been released and can currently be found at your local comic book shop or through Top Cow’s digital distribution partners. 39 MINUTES and GENIUS are currently in production and will be given release dates soon. All eight of the 2011 competitors are available at your local comic shop or through Top Cow’s digital distribution partners including comiXology, Graphicly, and iVerse. A trade paperback collecting all eight titles is planned for release in March 2012 and will carry a price of $19.99.

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

Pilot Season Voting Extended

Top Cow Productions announced today that they would be extending the first round of Pilot Season voting through the end of the year. The enthusiasm and volume of votes in the first two weeks of voting overwhelmed the servers at topcow.com and as a result the company’s site was down for several days last week.

Every year, Pilot Season pits a number of original concepts and creative teams in a head-to-head battle for fan votes to see which one title will continue. This year eight single, self-contained “pilot issues” were released and voting began at topcow.com on December 5^th. The competition quickly became heated and despite Top Cow increasing their bandwidth with their hosting company, voting overwhelmed the company website and exceeded its bandwidth.

“This is just another great example of the excitement and passion fans bring to Pilot Season,” commented Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik, “The number and velocity of votes completely exceeded our expectations and this is the sort of high class problem you don’t mind solving. All of us at Top Cow are eager to see which Pilot Season competitor emerges victorious.”

The publisher’s website has now been restored and migrated over to a new more substantial server capable of handling the additional traffic. In the interest of giving each competitor the full allotted time, Top Cow has also extended the first round of voting until Saturday, December 31^st at 11:59pm PST. The second round of voting will begin on Sunday, January 1^st at midnight PST. As a reminder, the second round will be narrowed down to the top four vote-getters and will be limited to one vote per person per day. The second round of voting will run until Saturday, January 7^th at 11:59pm PST and the final round will commence on Sunday, January 8^th at midnight PST (limited to one vote per person per day). The top two vote-getters will compete until Saturday, January 14^th at 11:59pm PST and a winner will be announced the following week.

Additionally, Top Cow has announced that beginning January 2^nd, the top four vote-getters will be available in their entirety for free through Top Cow’s digital distribution partners and on topcow.com for fans to read and make an even more educated voting decision. Top Cow’s distribution partners include comiXology, Graphicly, iVerse, Wowio, DriveThruComics, MyDigitalComics, and others. The titles will be free until the end of the voting period.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Witchblade #150

Image Comics and Top Cow Productions are proudly spotlighting the landmark 150th issue of their iconic original comic book series this week with an over-sized issue full of extras. WITCHBLADE #150 also marks Ron Marz’s 70^th consecutively written issue of one of the longest running comics with a single female lead, and a major turning point in the life of Sara Pezzini.

In addition to providing a story that serves as a fitting conclusion to Marz and artist Stjepan Sejic's critically acclaimed run, WITCHBLADE #150 will also serve as a retrospective of their contributions and the longevity of the series overall. As a special bonus, the issue also includes preview material for WITCHBLADE #151, when the new creative team of Tim Seeley (HACK/SLASH) and Diego Bernard (The Man With No Name) take the reins of Top Cow’s flagship title.

"It's bittersweet, definitely," Marz reflected. "Sara has been an almost daily presence in my life for more than seven years, so it feels a little weird to be going our separate ways, at least in terms of the WITCHBLADE monthly. But even if this seems like Stjepan and I are breaking up with Sara, I know we'll see her again in ARTIFACTS. Sara will definitely be a presence in that book going forward. So we'll be reunited. And, uh, it feels so good."

New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini is the bearer of the Witchblade, a mysterious Artifact that takes the form of a deadly and powerful gauntlet. Sara must try to control the Witchblade and learn its secrets, even as she investigates the city’s strangest, most supernatural crimes. Pezzini has carefully balanced her responsibilities as a police officer with her duties as bearer of the Witchblade for years, but now Lieutenant Phipps, from the Internal Affairs department, threatens to take one of these away from her. In this emotionally charged issue, Sara will be forced to make a decision that will impact the direction of WITCHBLADE for a long time to come.

WITCHBLADE #150, a 48-page full-color super hero comic book, will be available in stores and digital platforms on December 14^th. This landmark issue will ship with four covers by Stjepan Sejic (JUL110410), Michael Broussard (JUL110411), Mike Choi (JUL110412), and a remastered cover by Michael Turner (JUL110413). WITCHBLADE #151 (AUG110425) will be available in stores and digital platforms on January 4^th.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Teen Wolf Comes to Comics

Following the immediate success of MTV's newest hit show Teen Wolf, Top Cow Productions and MTV Comics are presenting a three issue comics series based on the show that will hit store shelves and digital platforms soon. When the new comic book series was announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego, the fans of Teen Wolf swarmed Top Cow's booth for the exclusive preview of the comic and stood in line for hours waiting to meet the cast and creators of their newest favorite teen horror drama.

This three issue miniseries will begin shipping in a week and, like the break-out successful MTV Television series, will appeal to the fans of the original films as well as cultural icons such as the Twilight Saga and Vampire Diaries. Written by David Tischman (True Blood, Bite Club) with art by Stephen Mooney (Angel) and covers by Joe Corroney (True Blood: Tainted Love), the series will act as both an introduction to new fans of Teen Wolf and augment the viewing experience of the hit MTV show.

"TEEN WOLF reimagines the worn-out werewolf genre, and turns it into a modern story of horror and hot love," explained writer David Tischman. "The scripts are so smart, and I worked with [showrunner] Jeff Davis to keep the same scary horror we see each week on the show; the personal horror of Scott dealing with being a werewolf, and the predatory horror of the werewolf culture. But I also really wanted to focus on the relationship moments between Scott and Allison. In those scenes, I think everybody remembers what that first love was like -- the scary, gut-wrenching 'Does she like me?' and 'Can I touch that?' moments we all have growing up. The book's been a lot of fun to write, and I can't wait to see what Jeff comes up with for Season 2."

Scott McCall's life is a living nightmare. Sure, he's co-captain of the Beacon Hills High Lacrosse Team and his hot new girlfriend, Allison, adores him, but Scott was bitten by a werewolf. And every time he gets excited, the claws come out. And the hair. And the fangs. That might be okay, except Allison's father leads a specially trained group of Hunters who want him dead. Scott's managed to keep his secret safe, but what happens when he can't reverse the process?

TEEN WOLF: BITE ME #1 (JUL110434), a full color comic will be on sale in stores on September 21^st for $3.99, along with a limited photo variant cover at participating retailers.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Pilot Season

For the fifth consecutive year, Image Comics and Top Cow Productions proudly announce this year's Pilot Season titles and creative teams. This year's contestants for the comics industry's premiere fan-driven initiative include award winners, screenwriters, stellar art teams, and even a Chicago Bear.

The rules to PILOT SEASON are simple: Each competing team gets a one-shot "pilot issue" comic book to win over fans. When all the books have been released in direct market stores and digital partners, the fans take control and vote on their favorite series. The winner of Pilot Season gets the greenlight to produce a series to be released at a later date through Top Cow Productions. Last year, over a million votes were cast for winner 39 MINUTES, written and created by William Harms (IMPALER) with art by Jerry Lando.

"After five years, PILOT SEASON has become a comic industry institution that really embodies Top Cow's mantra of 'We Create...' and gives fans unprecedented control,” commented Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “This year's slate of contenders is the most diverse in creators and genres yet.”

All PILOT SEASON one-shots are 32-page full color comic books that will go on sale for $3.99.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Reviews Mysterious Ways #1

Mysterious Ways from Image Comics is one of those comic books I really wanted to enjoy. Unfortunately, the first issue falls below the mark.

Mysterious Ways definitely has a story to tell, and I do believe it's a story worth reading, but it did not capture me as a reader, reviewer, or creator for several reasons. While the implied backstory is easy enough to discern, writer Jason Rubin spends far too much time on it. Then there is the obligatory fight scene (no infringement meant) about midway through the book that is very forced, even for comics. While Rubin's talent is obvious, so is his video game background.

The art does not go with the story at all. While the character is obviously superheroic in nature and a perfect fit with Image's other horror-themed superhero titles (Haunt, Spawn, et. al.), the first issue focuses very little on that. The whole approach takes everything away from the horror angle and looks more like artist Tyler Kirkham is applying for a job on one of those other titles.

Mysterious Ways #1 shows promise, but little more. However, readers who enjoy the aforementioned titles, or enjoy "story" videogames, will probably enjoy it.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

The Artifacts Finale Arrives This September

This September, the final issue of Image Comics and Top Cow Productions' ARTIFACTS series will not only feature interior art by comic icon Dale Keown (BERSERKER, PITT), but will set the stage for the entire Top Cow Universe for the foreseeable future. ARTIFACTS, orchestrated by prolific writer Ron Marz (SHINKU, WITCHBLADE) and various artists, including Jeremy Haun, has definitely proven to be a world-changing event in the Top Cow Universe.

Marz commented on his work on the upcoming finale: "Honestly, the hardest thing to do with any event series is make sure the ending is worthy of what's come before. That's where the real pressure comes in. So having an immense talent like Dale Keown joining me for issue #13 makes it a lot easier to stick the landing, so to speak. With Dale on board, ARTIFACTS #13 will be epic in every sense of the word. I've been lucky to work with Michael Broussard, Whilce Portacio, and Jeremy Haun on the series, and Dale is the icing on the cake."

Keown added, "Top-Cow has created some great characters and storylines for the ARTIFACTS series and I'm thrilled to be working on the finale issue!"

The epic story of ARTIFACTS has been organically threading the lives and fates of the many beloved Top Cow characters together, so that however events in this last issue unfold, all will be impacted. Beginning in October, Top Cow Productions will be scheduling an ARTIFACTS-related title a week, so readers can follow their favorite characters within WITCHBLADE, THE DARKNESS, and THE MAGDALENA, as well as a yet-to-be-announced fourth mystery title after the fallout of ARTIFACTS.

"I am so incredibly excited for September and beyond in the Top Cow Universe. Ron Marz and I first discussed ARTIFACTS over two years ago and it's thrilling to see readers experience the story I've known about all along. It's even more exciting to see Dale Keown return to interior work. No reboots, no relaunches, just an epic event and a manageable comic universe done right!"

ARTIFACTS #13 (JUL110439), a 32-page, full-color comic book, is available for order in the July issue of Previews Catalog for $3.99 and ARTIFACTS VOL. 2 TP (OCT108036) goes on sale August 3^rd, 2011 for $15.99.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Mysterious Ways

Mysterious Ways

Crazed serial killers often claim to be doing God’s work, but what if one really was? MYSTERIOUS WAYS, a six-issue miniseries from Image Comics' Top Cow Productions proposes an answer to that disturbing question. This July, video game industry titan Jason Rubin (The Iron Saint) joins forces with artist Tyler Kirkham (Green Lantern Corps, Amazing Spider-Man) to introduce this dark and action-packed thriller that will have you questioning everything you believe.

MYSTERIOUS WAYS takes a number of archetypes from classic crime suspense stories and turns them on their head over the course of the story. Sam, the down-on-his-luck, alcoholic ex-cop is not what he seems. Neither is the sharp-tongued, Gothic bar waitress. Certainly not the by-the-book FBI agent with a perfect arrest record!

"MYSTERIOUS WAYS has been in my head for the better part of a decade, so it's great to see it come to fruition with style," said Rubin. "Tyler and our inker, Sal Regla, are at the top of their game, and I can't thank Top Cow and Image enough for their commitment to bringing out books of the highest quality."

"Jason shows how diverse a story teller he is," added Kirkham. "MYSTERIOUS WAYS is as far from Crash Bandicoot as you could possibly go. It's a sick thrill ride from start to finish!"

Not only will MYSTERIOUS WAYS provide a disturbing new story for horror fans, but beginning the last week of April, readers will also be asked to predict how MYSTERIOUS WAYS plays out -- and most importantly how it ends -- with a contest in which the reader who submits the closest description of the storyline through the website by the day the second issue hits stores will receive every Top Cow comic released over the next 12 months, absolutely free! Participants must submit their entries through Top Cow’s new community Website, The Barn. The winner will be announced after the last issue ships.

MYSTERIOUS WAYS #1 (MAY110428), a 32-page, full-color comic priced at $3.99, will be available for order in the May issue of Diamond Previews and goes on sale July 6^th.

Post was originally scheduled for April 25^th; no idea why it did not publish as scheduled.

UPDATE:  I know now. - 2018
© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Top Cow Seeking New Artists

Berkeley, CA - 14 February 2011 - Those who have dreamt of having their work featured on the cover of a Top Cow comic will get their chance with the NETHERWORLD "We Are All Lost" Variant Cover contest. Artists, amateur and professional alike, are encouraged to enter their images of an urban landscape with the phrase “We Are All Lost” embedded into the setting. The best entry will be selected to appear in April as the retailer incentive variant cover for NETHERWORLD #1.

Top Cow Productions, Inc. and Heroes and Villains Entertainment present NETHERWORLD, a gritty supernatural story about the message on the walls of a city with no sun and no hope. Ray, a former cop turned private eye and junkie, has been entreated to find a girl named Madeline. As he searches through the city's twisted underbelly, Ray must unveil the darkest secrets of NETHERWORLD, including his own.

"The guys over at Heroes and Villains along with Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin has created a tremendously rich and vivid reality in NETHERWORLD. The phrase "We Are All Lost" plays an important part in establishing the tone of the series and was featured prominently in our teaser campaign," explained Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. "We wanted to take that a step further and really involve the fans in 'tagging' pieces of art to create a unique variant cover for the first issue."

Images can represent any city’s urban landscape and may feature original art of any medium, including photography and digitally-manipulated public domain images. Entries must be submitted at http://www.topcow.com/barn from February 14^th, 2011 to 6pm PST on March 1^st, 2011. Rules can be found here.

Besides being awarded the opportunity to have their art featured on the cover of NETHERWORLD #1, the winner will also receive other prizes, such as: an original sketch from artist Tony Shasteen, one copy of Netherworld #1 signed by co-writers Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin and artist Tony Shasteen, ten copies of their variant cover, and a selection of Top Cow comics and trade paperbacks!

NETHERWORLD #1, a 32-page, full-color comic book for $3.99 will be in stores on April 13^th, 2011.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Top Cow's 2007 Comic-Con Guest List

This is the list of talent Top Cow has for 2007 Comic-Con, according to Diamond Galleries:

• Stjepan Sejic (First Born, Witchblade)
• Michael Broussard (Unholy Union, The Darkness)
• Eric Basaldua (The Darkness Level 3, Hunter-Killer)
• Rick Basaldua (The Darkness Level 3)
• Ron Marz (Witchblade, First Born)
• David Wohl (The Darkness Levels)
• Joshua Ortega (The Necromancer, Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer)
• JonBoy Meyers (The Necromancer, Ninja Scroll)
• Paul Dini (Madame Mirage)
• Patrick Blaine (The Darkness Level 4)
• Blond (Freshmen II, Witchblade Takeru Manga)
• Mike Choi (X-23: Target X, The Darkness Level 5)
• Sonia Oback ( X-23: Target X, The Darkness Level 5)
• Phil Hester (The Darkness, Irredeemable Ant Man)
• Marc Silvestri (Civil War: The Initiative, Hunter-Killer)
• Seth Green & Hugh Sterbakov (Freshmen)
• Keu Cha (Witchblade, The Darkness)
• Francis Manapul (The Necromancer)
• Jon Landry (City of Heroes)