It’s only Saturday and already Dark Horse Comics is burning up the internet with big news!
Firs up, a new Hellboy graphic novel, The Midnight Circus from Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo and Dave Stewart. Next, Dark Horse Deluxe has licensed rights to creating a line of products based on Powers, the procedural in a world of superpowered characters created and owned by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming – with a limited edition stature of Retro girl leading the way. And finally, Wendy and Richard Pini’s Elfquest comes to Dark Horse in a series entitled Elfquest: The Final Quest.
Follow the jump for details from the official press releases.
DUNCAN FEGREDO RETURNS TO MIKE MIGNOLA’S HELLBOY IN AN ALL-NEW ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL!
CHICAGO, IL, APRIL 27–Following up on a collaboration which spanned multiple series, leading up to Mike Mignola’s return to both writing and drawing his beloved demon, artist Duncan Fegredo returns to tell a story about a young Hellboy’s first brush with hell.
In this beautifully drawn fifty-six-page graphic novel, a young Hellboy runs away from the B.P.R.D., only to stumble upon a weird and fantastical circus and the few demons from hell who inhabit it.
“This one owes a lot to Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (pretty much my favorite circus story of all time), but even more to Pinocchio—especially all the spooky, disturbing bits Disney left out. And the work Duncan is doing here is just flat-out amazing,” said Mike Mignola.
“Growing up is tough enough, even when you don’t know the weight of the world rests on the future of your yet-diminutive shoulders. Mike has woven a tale of coming of age for the young Hellboy made all the more poignant for knowing his future. Wonderful, magical, terrifying, this is epic Hellboy on a smaller stage,” Duncan Fegredo added.
Hellboy: The Midnight Circus arrives in a beautiful hardcover format similar to the previously released Hellboy: House of the Living Dead (created in collaboration with legendary artist Richard Corben in 2011). This new tale arrives on shelves on October 23, carrying a retail price of $14.99.
Praise for previous collaborations:
“Fegredo (and colorist Dave Stewart) do wonders with negative space here, and [Nimue] looks so amazingly creepy as she performs one final act of evil that it gives that climactic scene the visual punch to make sure you remember it for a long time to come.”—Comic Book Resources
“I love the use of shadow and color in this book, and the layouts in particular really flow fast. Fegredo in particular excels with the composition of his figures—this is definitely a fight comic all the way, and seeing Hellboy get tossed around like a doll really helps play up the stakes.”—Newsarama
For more information on Hellboy: The Midnight Circus, check out the exclusive interview with Mike Mignola on Comic Book Resources.
DARK HORSE DELUXE PROUDLY ANNOUNCES
A NEW LINE OF COLLECTIBLES BASED ON
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS AND
MICHAEL AVON OEMING’S POWERS!
APRIL 27, CHICAGO, IL–Dark Horse Deluxe, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics, has licensed rights to create figures based on Powers, a long-running creator-owned series of comics and graphic novels by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming.
Projects include a limited-edition statue of Retro Girl, a central figure in the first Powers story arc, and a boxed set of vinyl figures of the series’ ongoing principal characters.
Combining the genres of superhero fantasy, crime noir, and police procedural, Powers follows the lives and cases of two homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, assigned to investigate cases involving people with superhuman abilities, who are referred to as “powers.”
“We have been very particular about merchandising Powers over the years, because I wanted to make sure it was the highest-quality merchandise we could offer,” said Brian Michael Bendis. “I am a giant fan of Dark Horse and the care they give their merchandising. I am very excited about this partnership.”
“We feel that Powers is one of the best graphic-story treatments of the modern era,” Dark Horse Product Development Vice President David Scroggy remarked. “We are delighted to bring these characters forward. Brian Bendis is a master of story construction and dialogue, making him one of today’s most widely read comics writers, and Michael Oeming’s unique art style is one of the most individual in the field. Capturing their creative vision is a challenge we appreciate, and we couldn’t be more excited to work directly with these two talents in making that happen.”
The Retro Girl statue will be sculpted by Tony Cipriano, who has created many popular superhero-themed collectible statues for a variety of companies. Michael Avon Oeming, working in concert with Bendis and Dark Horse, created special art for the statue, which will be used as control art during sculpting. The statue will capture the stylized nature of the graphic art, while anchoring the figure in realism.
“To see your work translated into sculpture is always scary, but I’m very excited to be working with the amazing Tony,” Oeming stated.
Dark Horse also plans a boxed set of four-to-five-inch vinyl figures, which will include protagonists Walker and Pilgrim as centerpieces of the ensemble.
Both projects are slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2013. The prototypes will be shown to the trade and the public for the first time as part of the product display in the Dark Horse booth at San Diego Comic-Con in July.
Retail prices and edition sizes are to be determined.
For more information, check out design sketches and an exclusive interview with Brian Michael Bendis & Mike Oeming on Nerdist News!
ELFQUEST COMES TO DARK HORSE!
Elfquest: The Final Quest to launch comprehensive publishing program for all-new and existing material in the fall of 2013!
APRIL 27, CHICAGO, IL – Dark Horse kicked off C2E2 in style, with what is sure to be some of the biggest news of the weekend. Attendees of the Diamond Retailers Summit were the first to hear the publisher’s announcement of an all-new series in one of comics’ most storied worlds!
For generations, the Wolfriders sought a safe haven. Now, in the Palace of the High Ones, they have found it. But with security, the elves lose the skills that made them superb survivors in a harsh world. Elfquest: The Final Quest poses dire questions: Who stays? Who goes back to the forest? And what grim price will the Wolfriders pay?
“Dark Horse is a company I’ve admired ever since it sprang on the scene in the 1980s. Somehow, as large as they’ve grown, they’ve retained an independent spirit that Richard and I totally identify with. The quality of their offerings is legendary and I’m extremely happy that Elfquest is part of their lineup,” said Elfquest cocreator Wendy Pini.
“Mike Richardson and Dark Horse come from the same publishing DNA as our own company, Warp Graphics, and he retains that gut-deep love of getting comics out into the world. We’re jazzed at all the plans, both traditional and new, they have for Elfquest,” added Elfquest editor and cocreator Richard Pini.
“I’ve known Richard from our very first year and read Elfquest from its inception. I’ve also pursued him and Wendy for nearly as long as Dark Horse has existed. Elfquest has been a lifetime project for Wendy and it is one of comics’ great epics. I am extremely proud to bring their wonderful book to Dark Horse and particularly excited to see what is in store for us over the next three years,” Dark Horse President Mike Richardson continued.
In celebration of the thirty-fifthanniversary of Wendy and Richard Pini’s cult comics classic, Dark Horse proudly welcomes the Wolfriders, the Sun Folk, the Gliders, the Go-Backs, and the High Ones to its own rich history!
The first release will be the prologue to an all-new fantasy epic, Elfquest: The Final Quest, arriving in the fall of 2013! Following that, Dark Horse will release this new story alongside all-new editions of the previously published material from this best-loved series! Look for more details shortly!
Featured art courtesy of Dark Horse