Image Unveils Tons of New Titles at Image Expo

John F. Trent |

Apr 11, 2016

MOONSHINE by Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso, edited by Will Dennis

From Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso—the Eisner award-winning creative team behind the crime classic, 100 Bullets—comes the brutal new series, MOONSHINE.

MOONSHINE is set during the Prohibition Era, deep in the backwoods of Appalachia and tells the story of Lou Pirlo, a city-slick “torpedo” sent from New York City to negotiate a deal with the best moonshiner in West Virginia, one Hiram Holt. Lou figures it for milk run—how hard could it be to set-up moonshine shipments from a few ass-backward hillbillies? What Lou doesn’t figure on is that Holt is just as cunning as ruthless as any NYC crime boss and Lou is in way over his pin-striped head. Because not only will Holt do anything to protect his illicit booze operation, he’ll stop at nothing to protect a much darker family secret…a bloody, supernatural secret that must never see the light of day… or better still, the light of the full moon.

“The idea for Moonshine has been bubbling around between Eduardo [Risso] & I for years,” said Azzarello. “It’s exciting that it’s about to burst forth! But if fans think they know what to expect from us, then they ought to think again.”

MOONSHINE #1 will hit stores in Fall 2016 and marks the first time Azzarello and Risso have worked together with Image Comics and reunites the acclaimed creative team that defined modern crime comics with 100 Bullets… and now puts a horror-twist on a classic gangster tale.

MOTOR CRUSH by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, & Babs Tarr

From the creative team behind the popular, New York Times bestselling Batgirl of Burnside—Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and Babs Tarr—comes MOTOR CRUSH—is a stylish, neon-soaked, revved up science-fiction action series.

“I’m thrilled to continue working with this team on our new series, where we’ll really cut loose with our imagination and deliver a world with more style, more action, and more excitement than you’ve ever seen from us!” said Stewart.

By day, a Domino Swift competes for fame and fortune in a worldwide motorcycle racing league. By night, she cracks helmets of rival gangs in brutal, illegal bike wars on the city streets to gain possession of a rare and valuable contraband: an engine-boosting “machine narcotic” known as MOTOR CRUSH. But the origins—and ultimate purpose—of this mysterious substance are unknown, and could put her on a collision course with danger…

Fletcher shared his enthusiasm for returning for a new project, adding: “Working with your friends on the product of your collective, unfiltered imagination is the dream of every creative. And we’re about to live that dream!”

“I am SO excited to continue to work with these boys and really show everyone what we have to offer on something original,” said Tarr. “This book is gonna OOZE style and cool, your eyeballs will barely be able to handle it! I can’t wait to show you guys what we’ve got!”

MOTOR CRUSH rides into town this December 2016.

PRIMA by Jen Van Meter, Rick Burchett, Eric Newsom, edited by Jeanine Schaefer

Spies.
Thieves.
Ballerinas.
PRIMA.
You don’t always see who’s standing in the spotlight.

Creators Jen Van Meter and artist Rick Burchett team up to tell an all-new story about a dance company—comprised entirely of former spies—righting the wrongs of the Cold War in a series called, PRIMA.

PRIMA follows Sophia Forais and Pauline French are the soloist and Managing Director of a dance company that once served as a front for a Resistance cell in France. Engaged for a long run in New York, the dancers have turned their attention and unique skills to aiding a veteran of the Romanian underground now being blackmailed by her American husband. The small operation should prove simple, but Sophia, Paulina and their colleagues will quickly learn that the war has not really ended, and the world is no less ruthless than it was when they were smuggling information and refugees during the Occupation.

“Rick and I started Prima around a shared love of mid-century illustration and hybrid genres. The book started from a simple heist premise but has really evolved into something else —with a large cast and secrets both inside and outside the dance company, there’s a little Robin Hood, a little Le Carre and a healthy dose of soap opera,” said Van Meter. “We wanted to capture the sense of relief, vitality and glamour that followed in the wake of the Allied victory, but couldn’t turn away from the immediate onset of the Cold War, nor from the civilian lives forever altered by the rise and spread of Fascism in Europe. When Jeanine [Schaefer, editor] and Eric [Newsom, designer] became involved in the project, both immediately got what we were trying to do and leapt in to help us refine and control it. The crunchy center of the series is really about the role of Art and the Artist in the political sphere; the sweet, chewy exterior is all ballerinas, cat burglars, jazz musicians, murder and romance.”

An espionage/romance adventure set in the arts world just after WWII, PRIMA is a warm-hearted series of intrigues: To Catch a Thief goes to the ballet.

On stands in FALL 2016.

PRINCE OF CATS by Ron Wimberly

PRINCE OF CATS written and drawn by Ron Wimberly, lettered by Jarred Fisher, and featuring design by Jorden Haley returns to print from Image Comics.

PRINCE OF CATS was first released from Vertigo to critical acclaim in the summer 2012. It was out of print before the following summer. After three years, it will be returning to print through Image Comics.

PRINCE OF CATS is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead meets The Warriors meets Sword of Doom. PRINCE OF CATS sets Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in an alt-universe, mid-eighties New York where dueling with live blades evolved as a cultural phenomenon alongside New York’s other street cultures; it eschews the story of the titular star-crossed lovers to follow the tragic story of Tybalt, the Prince of Cats.

PRINCE OF CATS, the definitive remastered author’s edition, is set to release in Fall 2016.

ROCKSTARS by Joe Harris & Megan Hutchison

Fan-favorite Joe Harris (THE X-FILES, SNOWFALL) teams up with artist Megan Hutchison for an all-new, ongoing series a la Almost Famous meets Supernatural called, ROCKSTARS.

ROCKSTARS follows a pair of young, rock ‘n roll investigators as they uncover a mystery involving a legendary band, dead groupies, human sacrifice and a supernatural undercurrent connecting so many famous—and even more undiscovered—secrets, myths and conspiracies peppering rock music throughout the ages.

When a pattern of unsolved ‘groupie’ murders dating back to the 1970s resumes in present-day Los Angeles, nobody makes the connection except for Jackie Mayer, a young rock nerd who not only knows everything about music history, trivia and its myriad secrets and factoids, but also harbors a mysterious, almost magical ability to ‘see’ what most people miss, and determine and divine what’s going unreported.

Joined by a music writer and aspiring investigative reporter named Dorothy Buell, and his loyal cat, Skydog, they soon uncover a vast mystery involving a legendary band’s exploits, their mercurial guitarist’s occult associations, demonic possession, and sacrifices to the dark gods of rock.

“Rockstars is a story I’ve wanted to tell since I was a little kid, flipping through old records, trading bootlegs with the older kids in school, sewing patches onto my denim jacket, playing guitar in bands, and absolutely surrendering my imagination to the majesty of rock n’ roll music and excess, the crazy culture both within and behind it, and what it means and has meant to fans throughout the years. It’s a supernatural investigation into the music I love, the kinds of genre stories I adore, and the kind of larger-than-life figures that always felt so suited to the comics medium.”

Each story arc will feature a case sprung from a different rock n’ roll era—British Invasion, Punk, 80s Heavy Metal, etc.—and draw on Jackie’s unique connection, knowledge, and darkly magical associations to crack them.

The series will launch in Fall 2016.

ROMULUS by Bryan Hill & Nelson Blake II (Top Cow Productions)

Fan-favorite writer Bryan Hill (POSTAL) and Nelson Blake II come together for an all-new Image/Top Cow series in ROMULUS.

Set in the near future, ROMULUS follows the last in a line of near-mystical martial artists wages a revolutionary war against The Order of Romulus, the ancient secret society that trained her—a global organization, hidden in plain sight, that’s controlled the world since the days of Ancient Rome.

Their plan? Cull the population with genocide and rule a New World Order. Her plan? Kill them all or die angry.

Romulus launches from Top Cow/Image in Fall 2016.

SEVEN TO ETERNITY by Rick Remender & Jerome Opeña

Writer Rick Remender reteams with collaborators Jerome Opeña (Uncanny X-Force, Fear Agent) and Matt Hollingsworth (TOKYO GHOST, WYTCHES) to bring readers a modern fantasy series following Adam Osidis, a dying knight from a disgraced house, on a mission to rid his world of an insidious God who ensnared him in a Faustian deal.

“Jerome and I began working together at Image ten years ago on titles such as Strange Girl and Fear Agent so it’s very fitting we return now to tell the tale of the Seven to Eternity. All those years ago we began discussing doing an epic fantasy tale at some point, should the planets ever align. A unique take on the familiar genre full of action, unexpected twists, totally unique characters and a villain who might end up stealing the show,” said Remender. “It’s taken us a decade to get it together, but the wait was worth it. During the past decade we’ve collaborated on numerous projects and fine-tuned our mighty nerd skills to a point where what we create here will eclipse our past collaborations. At least I know the art is Jerome’s best to date. Everyone loves Jerome and Matt Hollingsworth, but once their powers were mixed into the art cauldron something new and terrifying was born, a new level of sequential science. Hyperbole be dammed, there will be no better looking comic book in the world of human peoples.”

Gharils Sulm, The God of Whispers is a Machiavellian warlord who holds sway everywhere in the world of Zhal. He’s spread an omnipresent paranoia to every corner of the kingdoms; one of his spies hides in every house, every family, every hall, spreading mistrust and fear.

Adam must choose between joining a hopeless band of magic users in their desperate bid to free their world of the evil God’s burden or give in to the The God of Whispers’ promises of salvation and safety.

The series is set to launch in the Fall of 2016.

SURGEON X by Sara Kenney & John Watkiss, James Devlin, & Jared K. Fletcher, edited by Karen Berger

Writer Sara Kenney and artist John Watkiss come together for an all new series, SURGEON X, and join forces with the award-winning Karen Berger, founding editor of DC’s Vertigo imprint.

Set against the backdrop of an antibiotic apocalypse in near future London. Rosa Scott, a brilliant and obsessive surgeon becomes Surgeon X, a vigilante doctor who uses experimental surgery and black market drugs to treat patients. But as Surgeon X, Rosa soon develops a godlike-complex, deciding who will live and who will die. Ultimately, she believes that to survive in this compromised world her own warped moral code is the one she must follow—even if it endangers those closest to her.

“When I first heard this original and compelling concept, I thought it was time to get back into comics again,” said Berger. “I love that it explores the consequences of a world where the bedrock of modern medicine has crumbled, where people must adapt to a dangerous new reality, and where the lead character’s subversive nature makes us question our own sense of ethics and morality. So excited to be working alongside the fabulously multi-talented creator/writer Sara Kenney and the brilliant, masterful artist John Watkiss. Sara’s vision is frighteningly real and beautifully executed.”

The comic is informed by hundreds of conversations with scientists, physicians, historians, economists, ethicists & philosophers to create this deeply disturbing, yet authentic future world.

SURGEON X was funded by a Society Award from Wellcome Trust, an independent global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health. They support bright minds in science, the humanities and the social sciences, as well as education, public engagement and the application of research to medicine.

SURGEON X will launch in Fall 2016.

VS by Ivan Brandon, Esad Ribić, Ive Svorcina, Aditya Bidikar, Tom Muller, edited by Sebastian Girner

Writer Ivan Brandon (DRIFTER) and Esad Ribić (Secret Wars) team up with colorist Ive Svorcina, letterer Aditya Bidikar, designer Tom Muller, and editor Sebastian Girner for a futurist drama in, VS.
VS follows the rise and fall of Satta Flynn, a wildly popular soldier in a time when War has been privatized and is a form of entertainment.

Armies financed and equipped by super-corporations. War medics that double as Pit Mechanics. Satta’s every move is LIVE on TV. And for the first time, Satta finds out what it’s like to lose.

VS is set to launch in Fall 2016.

WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD by Steve Niles & Alison Sampson

Writer Steve Niles teams up with artist Alison Sampson, colorist Stéphane Paitreau, and letterer Clem Robins in WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD.

Sampson used 1970s horror films for inspiration on the artwork and described the book’s overall look as: “about 70% Americana, slightly heightened, like True Blood, and about 30% ripping off of heads.”

A horror-adventure story, WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD follows a family with a teenage son and what happens when their road-trip goes wrong and they find themselves stuck in a town full of satanists.

WINNEBAGO GRAVEYARD is set to launch in Fall 2017.