Dark Horse and Digital Manga present the explosive Trigun sequel, Trigun Maximum!
The hottest manga on the market enters brand new storytelling territory! As an anime series, Trigun gained a multitude of fans across the otaku landscape, before gaining a burgeoning mainstream manga audience. Now, Trigun Maximum, coming May 2004 from Dark Horse and Digital Manga, brings readers more explosive action and adventure!
The bounty on Vash’s head has been lifted since he was declared a “natural disaster” by the two insurance ladies, Millie and Meryl, but that’s not the end of his troubles. An unmatched gunman, Vash has a mystery locked in his scarred body and a dark past he can’t completely remember. Plus, he’s also the target of a gang of assassins devoted to another enigmatic character named Knives. Knives knows about Vash’s mysterious power, and at the end of Trigun volume two used it to turn Vash’s arm into a giant gun that was used to blast a crater into a moon above the planet! Vash has since disappeared from society and has not been seen for a few years.
With Vash’s long absence, legends begin to spring up all over about him and there are several Vash imposters showing up trying to lay claim to his legend. But now legend is about to meet reality when the traveling priest known as Wolfwood gets stranded in a seedy bar. The bartender tells him he can’t leave because Vash is holding the town hostage. He wonders, can it be the real Vash? Wolfwood is intent on finding out, and events explode that lead him to believe he may have found the real Vash!
“I was overwhelmed by the positive response the first two Trigun volumes received,” manga editor Tim Ervin-Gore enthused. “And I am eager to see where Trigun Maximum takes us as the story grows in intensity and new villains come into play. Trigun fans are in for a real treat!”
Trigun Maximum, featuring story and art by Yasuhiro Nightow, arrives on sale May 19 with a retail price of $9.95. Trigun Maximum will feature translated and overlaid sound effects.
Take the Last Train to Deadsville with Cal MacDonald !
Dark Horse is thrilled to present the most terrifying team-up of talent to hit the comics scene in years, as fan-favorite horror scribe Steve Niles (30 Days of Night, Dark Days, Criminal Macabre) joins artist Kelley Jones (Deadman, Batman, The Hammer) to bring you Last Train to Deadsville, the follow-up to last year’s hit miniseries Criminal Macabre!
Last Train to Deadsville takes supernatural private dick Cal McDonald and his ghoulish partner Mo’Lock on their weirdest adventure yet. Things start per usual with Cal and Mo’Lock engaged in battle against a very nasty and recently resurrected mummy. After a close call in which Mo’Lock proves his loyalty to Cal in an eye-popping manner, the two leave a destroyed museum and lifeless mummy behind. Unknown to Cal he is about to face his most menacing foe to date, the girlfriend he forgot to get a gift for on Valentine’s Day! Before Cal can dodge that proverbial bullet, he is faced with an even more immediate menace. A bizarre family straight out of the film Deliverance is standing in his front door with what appears to be a possessed teenager in their arms! Cal lets the clan inside but soon realizes there is more to this family and the possessed teen than first meets the eye.
In addition to the immediate dangers Cal will face, Last Train to Deadsville takes Cal and Mo’Lock on a road trip that will reveal shocking events about Cal’s past you won’t want to miss!
“I love writing Cal McDonald more than I can say,” enthused writer Steve Niles. “Kelley Jones’ art really brings Cal’s world of ghouls to life. It’s dark, scary, and gritty as hell. I couldn’t be more excited!”
Last Train to Deadsville: A Cal Mcdonald Mystery features story by Steve Niles and art by Kelley Jones. It arrives on sale May 12, with a retail price of $2.99.
Uncle Gabby’s Memory Tony Millionaire’s Sock Monkey returns in May hardcover
This May, Dark Horse presents the newest adventures of Tony Millionaire’s Sock Monkey in a lovingly designed hardcover edition. The Uncle Gabby hardcover is a 40-page meditation on memory and childhood, rendered in Millionaire’s uniquely beautiful style and colored by Jim Campbell. Uncle Gabby is joined by his companions Mr. Crow and Inches the Doll on his latest melancholy adventure.
The story begins as the Sock Monkey returns home from the Poetical Society where he has become a Master Poet dedicated to the Science of Un-naming Objects. He embarks on a journey of sentimentality as he rediscovers his childhood home. However, things are not as he remembers them, and he is subjected to an avalanche of heartbreaking realizations.
Asked to describe the book, Tony Millionaire outlined its themes. “Have you ever walked into an old house and thought that you had been there before, or seen a sailing ship on the ocean and felt that you must have been a pirate in a previous life? This is a book about nostalgia, the way we remember things, and about longing for what we never had.”
Tony Millionaire’s Sock Monkey: Uncle Gabby hardcover is available May 19, for the retail price of $14.95.
Get schooled with SpyBoy Final Exam, a new SpyBoy mini series!
This is it, boys and girls! SpyBoy comes face to face with his greatest challenges ever-his senior prom, his graduation from high school … and the revelation as to the truth about his mother! All this while going up against his greatest opponent ever-Spyguy!
SpyBoy: Final Exam is a four issue miniseries written by Peter David with art by Pop Mhan. Issue #1 arrives on sale May 5, with a retail price of $2.99.
More classic Grendel tales remastered in Grendel: Devil’s Reign
The year is 2530, and the corrupt Church has fallen. Continent-wide social upheaval following the collapse of Vatican Ouest’s tower in Colorado is compounded by the spreading infestation of vampires-victims of a savage new plague. Ex-COP leader Pellon Cross is still at large and Eppy Thatcher is nowhere to be found. Orion Assante, in control of North America’s most-watched broadcasting frequency, begins his quest to unite the Systems and restore order. While Sherri Caniff works to secure him legitimate power from the BASIC Board of Directors, Orion develops an entirely different form of power: Orion’s Sword. His ambitions beg the question: Does the spirit of the Devil still possess Eppy Thatcher, or has it already moved on? It’s a Brave New World …and Grendel wants the helm!
Featuring story by Matt Wagner and art by Tim Sale, Grendel: Devil’s Reign re-presents the original Grendel #34-40, with newly remastered color by Matt Hollingsworth and all-new cover art by Tim Sale. Issue #1 arrives on sale May 19, with a retail price of $3.50.
Don’t miss Goon mayhem in The Goon Volume 2: My Murderous Childhood
(And Other Grievous Yarns)
The Goon and Franky have been best friends ever since they was tykes. Find out how the two little ankle-biters became best pals, and how they muscled their way into the rackets of big-time crime-boss, Labrazio-who, incidentally, nobody’s seen in a while. This trip down memory lane ain’t gonna be no joyride, neither. Franky and the Goon are going to have to take on a horde of zombies, an army of hoboes, a couple of grave-robbin’ mongoloids, a guy with a gold head and his killer robot, a pie-crazed skunk ape, one homely, man-crazy sea hag, and a whole lot of other things that smell just as bad if not worse. Pick up a copy, because those uptown rich people may have the cops and their G-men, but down here all we got is the Goon!
Featuring story and art by Eric Powell, The Goon Volume 2: My Murderous Childhood (And Other Grievous Yarns) collects issues #1-4 of the Dark Horse series, plus the 8-page story from Drawing on Your Nightmares, “The Brothers Mud.” It arrives on sale May 5 with a retail price of $13.95.
The horror continues in The Ring Volume 2
The fabulously creepy story of The Ring takes a side step from the plot of the original Japanese film, drawing the reader into life after all that tragedy and mystery. It turns out Sadako, the psychic killer, isn’t so easily disposed of. Beautifully illustrated by the adept Meimu, The Ring Volume 2 takes the reader into the life of Mai Takano, after her beloved Professor Ryuji is killed by Sadako. Adding to the sci-fi element, both Mai and little Yoichi, son of Ryuji and Reiko, have developed psychic powers and are often haunted by the powerful Sadako.
The Ring Volume 2 features story by Takashi Hiroshi and art by Meimu. It arrives on sale May 12 with a retail price of $13.95.
Geek justice served in The Invincible Ed
A regular geek at Chesterton High, Ed mistakenly receives the alien power of invincibility but to his horror, being a superhero just hurts like hell! Without super strength, heat vision, or anything at all, Ed learns the ropes of being a superhero with only an extremely high level of pain tolerance. Jealously enraged at Ed’s benefit, Lance Lundgrin schemes to overthrow the geek-gone-super geek. Through the relentless and hilarious pain inflicted on him, Ed learns how to believe in himself and make self-sacrifices for the greater good.
The Invincible Ed trade paperback collects the four issue series written and drawn by Ryan Woodward. It arrives on sale May 12 with a retail price of $13.95.
