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The Image Expo keynote address, given by Publisher Eric Stephenson, reflected upon soaring sales increases over the course of 2017 for Image Comics and revealed the following new creator-owned project announcements for 2018. The keynote and announcements streamed live for the first time on\u00a0Twitch.tv\/ImageComics<\/a>.<\/p>\n BLACKBIRD by Sam Humphries & Jen Bartel<\/strong> “BLACKBIRD is a labor of love, a coming of age story and beautiful people doing insane things with magic,” said Humphries.<\/p>\n The series launches from Image Comics in October 2018.<\/p>\n Rob Liefeld\u2019S BLOODSTRIKE will feature story, art, and cover by Michel Fiffe<\/strong> In Michel Fiffe’s BLOODSTRIKE: BRUTALISTS, the creator of the indie hit COPRA shines a light on Image\u2019s most extreme series and its groundbreaking carnage. Whether it’s the origin of our favorite undead strikeforce or solving the trail of mysteries that plague them, this mini-series picks up where the original title left off while introducing the concept to a new audience. Celebrate Bloodstrike\u2019s take-no-prisoners legacy by looking forward as only the new wave of comic-auteurs can! Don\u2019t \u201crub the blood\u201d\u2026drown in it.<\/p>\n CROWDED by Christopher Sebela, Ted Brandt, Ro Stein & Triona Farrell<\/strong> \u201cJosh and I have been working on this book for a few years now in secret,\u201d said Sebela. \u201cJust waiting for the chance to unleash it on readers and we\u2019re kinda freaking out that this thing we\u2019ve put so much time and sweat into is really real and really good.\u201d<\/p>\n In CROWDED, a platform called Reapr allows anyone to crowdfund assassination attempts. The parody ignites when protagonist Charlie Ellison is forced to fend off a wave of hitmen with the help of a low-rate bodyguard.<\/p>\n The series launches in Summer 2018.<\/p>\n DEAD GUY FAN CLUB by Annie Wu\u00a0<\/strong> “I’m thrilled to be writing and illustrating a new series,\u201d said Wu. \u201cI can’t wait to share this weird little black comedy with everyone.”<\/p>\n The series launches from Image Comics in Fall 2018.<\/p>\n DEAD RABBIT by Gerry Duggan & John McCrea<\/strong> “Gerry Duggan! John McCrea! The peaches and cream of comics\u2014though I’m not sure who’s the peach\u2026,\u201d said McCrea. \u201cAnyway, this comic has Gerry’s and my heart and soul poured into it, pick it up, you will love yourself forever for doing so…”<\/p>\n The series launches from Image Comics in Summer 2018.<\/p>\n DEATH OR GLORY by Rick Remender & Bengal<\/strong> Meet Glory, raised free in a convoy, off the grid, amid the last men and women truckers fighting automation to continue living the American mythology of the open road.<\/p>\n Now, in order to pay for her beloved, dying Father\u2019s surgery, Glory has three days to pull off a four dangerous cross country heists with mob killers, crooked cops and a psycho ex-husband all out to bring her in or die trying.<\/p>\n \u201cRick and I have been preparing something for years now, it was a privilege to get to work with him, and an even greater one to take the time to develop something together,\u201d Bengal. \u201cI’m very proud to finally present what we’ve been cooking! I hope readers will enjoy this story as much as we loved doing those pages.”<\/p>\n The series launches from Image Comics in May 2018.<\/p>\n ECHOLANDS by J.H. Williams & Haden Blackman<\/strong> \u201cECHOLANDS has been in development for years, bubbling in the background as we worked on other projects,\u201d said Blackman. \u201cBut it\u2019s a world and a cast of characters that has always drawn us back, and we\u2019re so grateful to be able to finally get the book out into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n On a world that has forgotten its own history, the key to excavating the past is in the hands of a young thief who must escape a vengeful wizard and his unstoppable golem.<\/p>\n The series will be coming soon from Image Comics.<\/p>\n FARMHAND by Rob Guillory<\/strong> FARMHAND follows Ezekiel Jenkins, a family man and new agrarian who returns to his family fields\u2014but these nightmarish crops give a new meaning to ear of corn and fingerling potatoes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a story that\u2019s been very near and dear to me for quite some time, and I\u2019m absolutely thrilled to finally announce it,\u201d said Guillory. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to introduce readers to the wonderful and horrific world of FARMHAND.”<\/p>\n FARMHAND launches from Image Comics in July 2018.<\/p>\n JOOK JOINT by Tee Franklin & Maria Nguyen\u00a0<\/strong> JOOK JOINT is a 5-issue time-period horror miniseries about a brothel\/jazz club exposing the social evils of racism, rape, domestic violence, and inequality.<\/p>\n Because of its subject matter, JOOK JOINT is set to launch in October 2018, in time for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Franklin and Nguyen will work with Image Comics on coordinating special charity variants to benefit Joyful Heart, a non-profit founded by Mariska Hargitay which places focus on healing, education and advocacy.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a domestic violence survivor, this is a story I\u2019ve been working on for years. It\u2019s been extremely cathartic and therapeutic. It was important for me to have an artist who understood what JOOK JOINT meant to me, before inviting them to embark on this journey with me,\u201d said Franklin. \u201cI appreciate that Image Comics has allowed me to tackle this subject matter, in addition to working with us on charity variants for Mariska Hargitay\u2019s Healing Heart foundation. I now have an opportunity to use my talents to help survivors like myself. People have helped me when I was going through a rough time in my life and now I want to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n THE LAST SIEGE by Landry Q. Walker & Justin Greenwood<\/strong> \u201cFor years I have wanted to tell a medieval war story, one that pulls away from the fantasy elements the genre is so often saddled with,\u201d said Walker. \u201cSwords, castles, and rage, all in a world where life is cheap. No other frills or distractions. Seeing this book come to print is a moment I have looked forward to for a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Greenwood added: \u201cFast, gritty and full of action\u2014I\u2019d been looking for a book to really cut loose on and this project came along at the perfect time. I haven\u2019t drawn this much dirt or blood in a long time and loving every minute of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The series launches from Image Comics in Summer 2018.<\/p>\n LEVIATHAN by John Layman, Nick Pitarra, & Mike Garland\u00a0<\/strong> In LEVIATHAN, a group millennials try to do a black magic ritual for laughs and end up summoning a demonic giant monster determined to kill them all.<\/p>\n LEVIATHAN is coming this summer to Image Comics.<\/p>\n TODD MCFARLANE ANNOUNCES FIVE NEW PROJECTS<\/strong> To help retailers take advantage of the upcoming SPAWN news buzz he announced the five projects below:<\/p>\n 1) MEDIEVAL SPAWN and WITCHBLADE crossover miniseries<\/strong> Fan favorites Spawn and Witchblade together for the first time in two decades!<\/p>\n 2) SPAWN KILLS EVERYONE 2 (mini-series)<\/strong> 3) MISERY (new ongoing monthly series)<\/strong> Stories will go global as Misery tries to discover exactly how to control her powers and how to make others feel her…misery.<\/p>\n 4) SPAWN (on-going monthly title)<\/strong> The comic Spawn is setting the stage to flush out some of his biggest enemies that he has locked on earth. He will come face to face with the Clown, Overt-Kill and an all-new Violator.<\/p>\n 5) SAM and TWITCH True Detectives (8 part mini-series)<\/strong> All eight\u00a0issues have already been completed and will be released close to the film’s announcement and trailers. Much like THE WALKING DEAD, new viewers will be drawn to the stories and characters they will be seeing on the big screen and also a potential new TV series.<\/p>\n NETFLIX’S MILLARWORLD TITLES LAUNCH WITH THE MAGIC ORDER<\/strong> We live in a world where we\u2019ve never seen a monster, and The Magic Order is the reason we sleep safely in our beds. Magic meets the Mob in THE MAGIC ORDER as five families of magicians\u2014sworn to protect our world for generations\u2014must battle an enemy who\u2019s picking them off one by one. By day, they live among us as our neighbors, friends and co-workers, but by night they are the sorcerers, magicians and wizards that protect us from the forces of darkness\u2026unless the darkness gets them first.<\/p>\n The series will launch from Image Comics in Summer 2018.<\/p>\n
\nSam Humphries (NIghtwing, Green Lantern<\/em>) and Jen Bartel team up to co-create BLACKBIRD a modern fantasy story best described as\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em>\u00a0meets\u00a0Riverdale<\/em>. It follows a young woman named Nina who discovers a neon-lit world of magic masters in Los Angeles. Now they\u2019ve kidnapped her sister, and Nina is the only one who can save her.<\/p>\n
\nMichel Fiffe will write, draw, and color three exciting new issues of BLOODSTRIKE. The Fiffe issues will also feature two back-up stories by Chuck Forsman and Paul Maybury with pin-ups by Ed Piskor, Benjamin Marra, Andrew Maclean, and more!<\/p>\n
\nSebela took to the stage and announced two new books today, one of which was CROWDED, which he\u2019s co-created with Ted Brandt and Ro Stein\u2014a cynical send-up of the app economy and online grudges.<\/p>\n
\nAnnie Wu introduced fans to the forthcoming DEAD GUY FAN CLUB. In this new series, the founders of a rock star\u2019s fan club reunite in adulthood to investigate the suspicious death of their hero and the involvement of an unhinged member of their old flock.<\/p>\n
\nDEAD RABBIT is a new ongoing series from writer Gerry Duggan (Deadpool) and artist John McCrea (Hitman) team up with colorist Mike Spicer in a rackous series about MARTIN DOBBS, a hot-tempered, foul-mouthed former mercenary and gun-for-hire who\u2019s forced out of retirement with predictably funny and violent results. With shades of UNFORGIVEN, THE EQUALIZER and ROBIN HOOD.<\/p>\n
\nFan favorite Rick Remender (SEVEN TO ETERNITY, DEADLY CLASS) teams up with brilliant French superstar Bengal to bring fans a high speed convoy crime thriller rocketing across the American West that examines our dwindling freedoms and the price paid by those who fight for an untethered life on the open road.<\/p>\n
\nJ.H. Williams (Sandman: Overture, Batwoman<\/em>) and Haden Blackman (Elektra, Batwoman<\/em>) team up with colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Todd Klein for an all-new mythic fiction genre mash-up series in ECHOLANDS, a tale where the last war on Earth starts with Hope\u2019s sticky fingers\u2026<\/p>\n
\nRob Guillory (CHEW) returns to both write and draw an all-new series in, FARMHAND.<\/p>\n
\nFresh off the buzz for BINGO LOVE\u2019s release on Valentine\u2019s Day, Franklin took to the stage to announce a new project with Image Comics\u2014JOOK JOINT\u2014with Maria Nguyen.<\/p>\n
\nBestselling creators Landry Q. Walker (DANGER CLUB,\u00a0Supergirl Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade<\/em>) and Justin Greenwood (THE FUSE,\u00a0Stumptown<\/em>) team up for an all-new, ongoing medieval war story, inspired by the storytelling structure of classic Spaghetti Westerns.<\/p>\n
\nEisner-award winning,\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0bestselling writer John Layman (CHEW) is back, teaming up with New York Times bestselling artist Nick Pitarra (THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS) and colorist extraordinaire Mike Garland in the all new, ongoing series\u2014that\u2019s Godzilla by way of black magic\u2014in LEVIATHAN.<\/p>\n
\nTodd McFarlane, President of Image Comics and creator of SPAWN, took to the stage today to announce \u00a0five new comic projects. The timing of these come on the heels of his upcoming directorial debut for the new SPAWN feature film. The movie will be in production by late spring so these comics will hit shelf just as the SPAWN movie is getting wide publicity across multiple platforms.<\/p>\n
\nThis May release is a re-teaming of two of Image’s most popular original characters.
\nThe new mini-series is written by Brian Holguin with art by Brian Haberlin with 32 full pages of story and art will also feature a special augmented reality cover for only $2.99.<\/p>\n
\nDue to the wonderful success of the one-shot, Todd McFarlane is creating along with Will Robson a four\u00a0part mini-series that has our childish Spawn giving birth to hundreds of smaller Spawn babies who take his “kill list” and try to help out their new father.<\/p>\n
\nIn the wake of the #MeToo scandals arises a teenage hero who is tired of being pushed around and abused by the actions of others. This new character, MISERY, will help out those innocent people who have been victimized by the evil that is spread across the entire planet.<\/p>\n
\nComic Industry’s longest running independent title continues its march towards its 300th issue as well as tying into the upcoming movie that McFarlane is writing and directing with Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions.<\/p>\n
\nDetective “Twitch” Williams will be the main focus in the new full length film about to go into production and he will be introduce to a whole new audience with his appearance in the SPAWN film.<\/p>\n
\nComics titan Mark Millar (KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, KICK-ASS, HIT-GIRL, JUPITER\u2019S LEGACY) announced that Netflix\u2019s forthcoming Millarworld titles will be published by Image Comics, beginning with his first new project, THE MAGIC ORDER. THE MAGIC ORDER will feature art by Olivier Coipel (Amazing Spider-Man, Thor<\/em>) and is planned as a six-issue miniseries.<\/p>\n