Darkhorse Comics September Solicitations

Mystery and mayhem abound in the original graphic novel Lazarus Jack

Ultimate Spider-man writer Brian Michael Bendis called writer Mark Ricketts “one of the singularly most talented people in comics.” Now Ricketts presents a spellbinding new tale blending reality and imagination, comedy and terror.

Plagued by an incident that cost him his family, magician Jackson Pierce struggles to reclaim them by embarking on a terrifying, nonstop, dimension-hopping thrill ride. On this journey through fantastic worlds both seduced and devastated by black magic, Jackson undergoes disturbing transformations, falls prey to an insane sorcerer, defies zero gravity, and ultimately confronts the demons from his past.

Mark Ricketts is the acclaimed writer of the graphic novel Nowheresville and the winner of the 2000 Klasky Csupo screenwriting competition. He has been described as “a powerful storyteller” by Don McPherson of The Fourth Rail and praised for having “a keen eye for the dark places and a sharp ear for the beat of speech” by 100 Bullets author Brian Azzarello.

“I usually describe this book as an escape artist’s adventures in Hell, but it’s more than that. It’s a story filled with intrigue, romance, magic, corruption, and redemption,” commented writer Mark Ricketts. ” It features a very dysfunctional family, three inept demons, a stuffy butler, unpredictable architecture, a zero gravity environment, a lovable beast with the key to eternal youth, and a one-eyed practical joker. There’s a kitchen sink in there too, I think.”

Lazarus Jack is an original graphic novel written by Mark Ricketts with art by Horacio Domingues. It arrives in stores September 29, with a retail price of $14.95.


Star Wars Tales has been revamped!
An all-new direction begins here in Star Wars Tales #21!

Beginning with issue #21 in September, the quarterly anthology Star Wars Tales undergoes a radical retooling. Over the course of its five-year run, Tales has presented a large collection of short, non-continuity Star Wars stories ranging wildly in style and tone, careening between the deadly serious and the absolutely absurd, doing its best to cast as wide a net over as broad an audience as possible.

Tales will be moving away from being a compilation of disparate, “what if?” style stories and becoming more of a companion to the other Star Wars monthlies (Empire and Republic) filled with longer, in-continuity adventures that span every Star Wars era.

Whether you’re a fan of the Old Republic, the Prequel era, the Classic Trilogy, or the New Jedi Order, you’re sure to find something to love in the book. Each issue will provide an era synopsis and timeline placements to help make the Star Wars Expanded Universe completely accessible and your first trip there thoroughly enjoyable.

In addition to the content, Tales’ format also gets a makeover-the page count remains the same, but it will be delivered on a new, slick paper stock and held together with a new binding and a new cover stock. Inside, every issue will contain a 22-page, full-length “lead” story, and a pair of similarly sized “back-up” stories, giving each the space and breathing room it needs to fully develop its characters and plots. Best of all, we’ll see the return of something fans have been clamoring for-the Star Wars letter column.

Issue #21 kicks off with Cla$$war writer Rob Williams and Man of Steel artist Brandon Badeaux teaming up to bring you the story of Darca Nyl-a Jedi wandering the galaxy’s Outer Rim hunting for revenge and hiding a deadly secret. Writer Shane McCarthy presents a rag-tag group of convicts and cutthroats flying for the Empire’s glory in the feared TIE Fighter squadron called “Black Eight.” And Kyle Katarn, star of the hit video game Jedi Outcast, goes toe-to-toe with the vile Yuuzhan Vong, in an action-packed tale by Nathan P. Butler and James Raiz (Tokyo Storm Warning).

Star Wars Tales #21 arrives on sale September 8, with a retail price of $5.99

Star Wars comic art collected in Star Wars: Panel To Panel-From The Pages of Dark Horse Comics to a Galaxy Far, Far Away

From 1992 to 1999, Dark Horse Comics was virtually the only source of new Star Wars visual art. Even after the release of the new films, the talented artists at Dark Horse have continued to expand the depth and breadth of the Star Wars galaxy. From ancient Jedi to alien worlds, from fantastic creatures to faster-than-light spaceships, no other publisher has produced so many dazzling images from our generation’s greatest mythology.

This book presents an amazing selection of covers and interior images from over a decade of Dark Horse’s comics and graphic novels, by some of the best artists the world over. A visual feast for anyone who enjoyed the films, a true treasure for the dedicated Star Wars fan!

Star Wars: Panel To Panel-From The Pages of Dark Horse Comics to a Galaxy Far, Far Away features the talents of Dave Dorman, Hugh Fleming, Cam Kennedy, Tsuneo Sanda, Terese Nielsen, Kia Asamiya, Jon Foster, Kilian Plunkett, and more! It arrives on sale September 29, with a retail price of $19.95.


Go behind the scenes with Don Bluth’s The Art of Storyboard

From Don Bluth-master animator, artist, and director of such cartoon classics as The Secret of N.I.M.H., An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Anastasia, and Titan A.E.-comes Don Bluth’s The Art of Storyboard, a one-of-a-kind textbook that describes in detail the technical and artistic processes involved in crafting storyboards for animated films, the visual blueprints that lay the foundation for the animators’ magic. Don Bluth takes readers on a journey as only an artist of such vast skills and filmmaking experience can, going from the breakdown of a script, through story conferences with Don Bluth Films collaborators Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy, and onto the finished boards. Loaded with technical tips and insights into the tapping of the creative imagination, The Art of Storyboard also features page after page of Bluth’s beautiful storyboard illustrations, many in full color. Whether used as an inspiring tool for professional and aspiring animators or just for the sheer joy of seeing how the written word is channeled through the animator’s mindscape on its way to the screen, Don Bluth’s The Art of Storyboard is a fascinating peek behind the curtain of film’s most creative storytelling medium.

Don Bluth’s The Art of Storyboard is written by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It arrives on sale September 29, with a retail price of $14.95.


Go Girl! returns in an all-new original graphic novel, Go Girl! Volume 1: The Time Team

Today is like any other day in Grover Cleveland High’s science lab-any day in the Jurassic Era, that is! Doc, the school genius, has rigged up a tight little time machine masquerading as an exercise bike, all fine and good until pretty-girl princess Heather cops a ride and drags herself, Doc, and Lindsay Goldman-a.k.a. teen superhero GoGirl!-back several million years to the dinosaur-infested jungles of the long-gone past. If being late for cheerleading practice isn’t enough of an annoyance, try ditching a hungry T-Rex! And where did those alien spaceships come from?!

Crafted by creator/writer Trina Robbins and artist Anne Timmons, the award-winning GoGirl! has captivated readers of all ages, and now GoGirl! stars in her own series of all-new original graphic novels.

Go Girl! Volume 1: The Time Team features the writing talents of Trina Robbins with art by Anne Timmons. It arrives on sale September 8, with a retail price of $5.95.


Mankinds’s only hope for survival is Lone!

Ravenous zombies have overrun the post-apocalyptic town of Desolation. Sharpshooter Luke and her older brother, Mark, are desperate. Their only hope is to track down and enlist the help of a gunman legendary in the western wasteland, a man known only as Lone. But if they find him, can they trust him? Cletus, a right geezer who claims to know Lone, seems to know more than he’s saying-‘specially after Luke mentioned how the zombies are being controlled by a strange figure that bleeds yellow. And what are “Gunfathers,” anyway? After fighting off radiation-twisted mutants for two weeks, Luke and Mark are ready for answers.

Lone features the rich storytelling of Stuart Moore, the stunning and imaginative art of Russ Manning Award-winner Jerome Opeña, and a short story with Sam and Twitch artist Alberto Ponticelli, and the talented Ben Templesmith. Collecting the six-issue miniseries, it arrives on sale September 29, with a retail price of$14.95.


Classic science fiction collected in M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War

When mysterious invaders appear out of nowhere to wreak havoc and attack every nation on the planet, the Earth’s military forces call on an elite team of the most skilled soldiers from all over the world, the Marine Attack Rescue Service-better known as M.A.R.S. Patrol!

Dark Horse is proud to present a collection of rare material from one of the greatest artists to ever illustrate science-fiction comics, the legendary Wally Wood’s M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War. Wally Wood is generally regarded as America’s best science fiction artist. In his thirty-two-year career in comics, Wally Wood worked for virtually every comic book publisher, producing an astonishing body of work that encompassed virtually every genre in comics. His art combined realism and caricature with virtuoso inking techniques to create some of the most visually appealing images ever created in comics.

Reprinting the first three issues of the Gold Key science-fiction epic, this collection of M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War represents Wood’s total contribution to the series and is a must for any fan of Wally Wood or collector of comic-book or science-fiction classics.

M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War features the writing and artistic talents of the legendary Wally Wood. It arrives on sale September 29, with a retail price of $12.95.

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