Robert Kirkman's Blog, page 44

The Walking Dead Issue #170 Cover Revealed!

Are you still reeling from THE WALKING DEAD #168? Us too! But in the meantime, we’ve got the brand spanking new cover for issue #170! Take a look at the cover and synopsis below and let us know what YOU think is going to happen in the comments below.

THE WALKING DEAD #170

STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART: CHARLIE ADLARD, STEFANO GAUDIANO & CLIFF RATHBURN

COVER: CHARLIE ADLARD & DAVE STEWART

AUGUST 2

32 PAGES | Black & White | Mature | $2.99

ON THE ROAD

Eugene’s journey begins on a hopeful note, but he could be leading his friends to a slaughter.

This Week’s Comics: Birthright #24, Horizon #11 & Invincible #136

Another week of new comics coming in hot! We’ve got 3 titles for you this week that we know you’re gonna love. Below, we’ve got previews for Birthright and Horizon so don’t miss those. Make sure to head to Comixology or your local comic shop on Wednesday to pick these bad boys up! Let us know your favorite scenes in the comments below.

BIRTHRIGHT #24

STORY: JOSHUA WILLIAMSON

ART/COVER: ANDREI BRESSAN & ADRIANO LUCAS

APRIL 12

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

The storied love between Mikey and Rya hits a major turning point, leading into our #25 anniversary issue!

      

HORIZON #11

  

STORY: BRANDON THOMAS

ART: JUAN GEDEON & MIKE SPICER

COVER: JASON HOWARD

MAY 17

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

Mariol Coza is a changed woman. She no longer harms others, and she certainly does not kill. But in war, there are always exceptions…



      

INVINCIBLE #136

STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART/COVER: RYAN OTTLEY & NATHAN FAIRBAIRN

MAY 17

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

THE END OF ALL THINGS Part 4 of 12

Thragg’s New Viltrumite stronghold is under attack! Invincible and the Coalition of Planets have decided to take the fight right to the source–resulting in the bloodiest battle thus far

Wanna see even more from Skybound? Check out Out This Week:

This Week’s Comics: Birthright #24, Horizon #11 & Invincible #136

Another week of new comics coming in hot! We’ve got 3 titles for you this week that we know you’re gonna love. Below, we’ve got previews for Birthright and Horizon so don’t miss those. Make sure to head to Comixology or your local comic shop on Wednesday to pick these bad boys up! Let us know your favorite scenes in the comments below.

BIRTHRIGHT #24

STORY: JOSHUA WILLIAMSON

ART/COVER: ANDREI BRESSAN & ADRIANO LUCAS

APRIL 12

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

The storied love between Mikey and Rya hits a major turning point, leading into our #25 anniversary issue!

      

HORIZON #11

  

STORY: BRANDON THOMAS

ART: JUAN GEDEON & MIKE SPICER

COVER: JASON HOWARD

MAY 17

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

Mariol Coza is a changed woman. She no longer harms others, and she certainly does not kill. But in war, there are always exceptions…

      

INVINCIBLE #136

STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART/COVER: RYAN OTTLEY & NATHAN FAIRBAIRN

MAY 17

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

THE END OF ALL THINGS Part 4 of 12

Thragg’s New Viltrumite stronghold is under attack! Invincible and the Coalition of Planets have decided to take the fight right to the source–resulting in the bloodiest battle thus far

Wanna see even more from Skybound? Check out Out This Week:

Expect The Walking Dead Season 8 To Be Packed With Action

The Walking Dead’s eight season began production a few weeks ago and we’re excited to bring you some details from the set! Below are excerpts from an Entertainment Weekly Radio interview with Walking Dead Co-Executive Producer Denise Huth, who’s thrilled so far with the new season. (Make sure to catch the rest of the interview here).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You all are filming the 100th episode. You’ve been there for all of them. What does this mean for you and your team?

DENISE HUTH: It’s kind of surreal in a way. Back when we started, we never imagined we’d make it to 100 episodes. It seemed like such a far-off goal, it was hard to even contemplate at that time — we just wanted a second season. It’s a huge compliment, the fact that we’ve been able to grow the story and grow the show and very year it gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger.

This year, that’s certainly the case as well.The energy here is really good. Everybody is super-pumped up and it’s particularly exciting coming off of last year where the season premiere last year was a total 180 energy-wise. It was really tough way to start the season and this year is a really exciting way to start.

EW: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lennie James, and others all talked pretty openly about how difficult last season was to film because the characters were all separated and really depressed and having to take crap from this Negan dude. How much more fun is it to film now as we head into the “All Out War” arc from the comics?

DH: Oh, gosh, it’s like night and day compared to how we had to start last year. They all came back so super excited and it’s a big year. These episodes are coming in huge. It’s a lot of work. It’s just as hard as it’s ever been, if not harder. There’s just a sense of excitement because the characters aren’t in that dark, down place. It was really hard last year.

It was hard for the cast, it was hard for the crew, it was hard for all of us. It was a really essential part of the story, and I think we needed to go through that pain to have what we’re doing now be so satisfying. If everything we are doing now had happened in the third or fourth episode last year, it would still be cool, but it wouldn’t have the impact now because we’ve all had to trudge through the mud to get here. So it’s great.

EW: You can’t tell us what is happening in the premiere, but give us a few adjectives to describe what fans are going to see.



DH: It’s a ton of action. It’s super exciting. I think it will be really, really satisfying. As a fan of the show — and I am a fan of the show — when I read it, it was like “Awww, I can’t wait! It’s going to be great!” It’s worth the worth the wait to get to this moment.

Make sure to catch the rest of the interview over at Entertainment Weekly!

Image Comics Announces Pride Month Variants!

As we continue to celebrate Image’s 25th anniversary, we’re happy to announce that June’s special variant covers will be themed to “Pride Month.” The variants will serve to celebrate the LGBTQ community and the progress made by the Gay Liberation Movement in promoting inclusivity and support for all. The best part is 100% of the proceeds made from these June Pride variant covers will be donated to Human Rights Campaign!

Both REDNECK #3 and THE WALKING DEAD #168 will feature Pride Month covers! Walking Dead #168 features a cover by Sina Grace with colors from Tamra Bonvillain while REDNECK #3 features a cover by Ed Luce. Take a look at these amazing covers below and let your retailer know to order them for you! Also, head over to Image Comics to see the other comics featured this month

  

This Week’s Comics: Green Valley #8!

This week we’ve got the penultimate chapter of GREEN VALLEY headed your way! Issue #8 is out this Wednesday and it’s a doozy. We’ve got a preview of the first 3 pages below. Don’t miss it!

Hit up your local comic shop Wednesday or grab it online at Comixology.

GREEN VALLEY #8 (of 9)

STORY: MAX LANDIS

ART/COVER: GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, CLIFF RATHBURN & JEAN-FRANCOIS BEAULIEU

MAY 10

32 PAGES | Full Color | Teen+ | $2.99

“Forgotten Mysteries of Medieval England”

A dragon slayer emerges as one knight is faced with the decision to endanger all of the world and time forever onward, to regain the lost glory of Kelodia.

       

Want to see everything else coming your way from Skybound this week? Check out our latest Out This Week video:

Skybound to Sponsor Sci-Fi Award at Austin Film Festival

We’re super excited to announce that Skybound Entertainment will be participating in the 2017 Austin Film Festival, taking place at the end of October in Austin, Texas! We will be sponsoring and judging the Sci-Fi Screenplay Award. We’re honored to be part of this amazing festival and can’t wait to see what the contestants have to offer!

Read the full press release below:

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES COMPETITION SPONSORS AND JUDGES
Public Radio International signs on as official sponsor of the inaugural Fiction Podcast Script Competition

AUSTIN, Texas— May 9, 2017 — In order to further support writers and storytellers, Austin Film Festival, (AFF), also known as “The Writers Festival”, is pleased to announce 2017 sponsors and judges for its Screenplay, Film, Digital Series, Playwriting, and Fiction Podcast Script Competitions. Sponsors will serve on the jury for their category and, schedules permitting, participate in AFF’s writers Conference as panelists as well as holding meetings with finalists during or after the 24th Annual Austin Film Festival, taking place this October 26 – November 2.

•Public Radio International (PRI) has officially signed on as the sponsor of the inaugural Fiction Podcast Script Competition which is open to scripts for any ongoing series intended for a purely acoustic medium. PRI is a key player in our country’s public media system; by producing and distributing programming to public radio stations nationwide and on digital platforms, they inspire curiosity and encourage civic engagement that leads to a more informed, empathetic and connected world. AFF has added a late deadline to the Fiction Podcast Script Competition: July 7.

•Sweetwood Creative, an Austin based production company led by Pat Hazell and Katie Goan, will be underwriting this year’s Playwriting Award. Sweetwood Creative: your Humor Resources Department produces original theatrical experiences, develops custom content, and provides creative consulting to writers, producers, and advertising agencies. www.sweetwoodiscreative.com

•Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is the underwriting sponsor of the Drama Screenplay Award category. Drama Finalist scripts will be judged by a select panel of WGAE screenwriters and the winner will be presented by a WGAE representative at the Awards Luncheon.

•Sony Pictures Animation is the official sponsor of the Comedy Screenplay Award. The studio behind Hotel Transylvania 2¸ Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and the upcoming The Emoji Movie will supply a representative to judge for the Semifinalist round of the Comedy category and one Sony screenwriter to join our panel of judges to evaluate the Finalists. Entries in this category are open to all genres of comedy and do not need to be exclusively animated scripts.

•AMC returns as the official sponsor and judge for the One-Hour Pilot Award for the fifth year in a row. The AMC One-Hour Pilot Award is open to any pilot script written in the one-hour format for an original television series.

•Skybound Entertainment is the sponsor for this year’s Sci-Fi Screenplay Award. The multiplatform entertainment company is led by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert, responsible for such television hits including The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Outcast and the upcoming Universal feature Invincible.

•Enderby Entertainment, co-founded by producers Rick Dugdale and Daniel Petrie, Jr., is sponsoring their own exclusive category, which is open to feature scripts in all genres with an original concept and distinctive voice that can be independently produced for under $10 million.

•Stage 13, one of the digital content creation brands in the Warner Bros. Digital Network Group, is sponsoring AFF’s Scripted Digital Series Competition. Stage 13 is a short form digital content brand that creates and showcases a diverse slate of original stories from short form scripted to non-scripted. Led by culture, vision and voice, the brand has had it’s series premiere at film festivals across the U.S. and is launching this summer. Stage 13 execs will help choose the winner of the competition and, schedules permitting, will meet with each Finalist during or after the Festival. Find out more about Stage 13 at www.stage13.com.

•This year’s Narrative Short Competition is sponsored by ShortsTV, the global home to short film. Available across the US and Europe, the channel brings audiences captivating short form content from filmmakers across the globe. ShortsTV will help select the Jury Award winner of this category and, schedules permitting, meet with each finalist during or after the Festival. Additionally, ShortsTV will provide the Jury Award winners of the Narrative, Documentary, Animated, and Student Short categories a distribution deal, and will air every short in competition on their channel.

•POV, American Documentary’s award-winning premiere showcase for independent non-fiction film series on PBS, is once again partnering with Austin Film Festival to support the Documentary Feature Competition. POV will help select the Jury Award winner in this category and, schedules permitting, meet with each finalist during or after the Festival.

•Popular independent distribution company Gravitas Ventures will once again help decide the Jury Award winner for the Comedy Vanguard Feature Competition and offer the Jury Award winner a first look Video On Demand distribution deal.

In addition to the sponsors noted above, Screenplay Competition Semifinalists and Finalists will have their scripts reviewed by industry judges which include representatives from Bellevue Productions, Escape Artists at Sony, Gross Entertainment, Madhouse Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Paradigm, and Warner Bros among others. They will also be included in our Annual Producer’s Book distributed to over 400 agents, managers, producers, and other industry professionals. More judges will be announced soon.

Selected films will similarly be reviewed by jurors made up of acclaimed filmmakers, distributors, and other industry insiders. Already confirmed this year are representatives from Showtime, Gunpowder & Sky, Stage13, POV, ShortsTV, and Gravitas Ventures each of whom will help select the Jury Award winners for one of AFF’s nine film and series categories. More film jurors will be announced shortly.

AFF is also proud to announce its continued partnership with Hiscox Insurance, who will once again serve as the official sponsor for AFF’s Audience Award, and will present the second Hiscox Courage Award to the film that best embodies the virtue of courage and to the filmmaker who best embraced the risk to share the story.

AFF is currently accepting entries for the 2017 Festival. Writers and filmmakers can submit their projects at www.austinfilmfestival.com. Final Deadlines are quickly approaching: May 10 for plays, and May 15 for screenplays and digital series. For film submissions, the Regular Deadline is May 19, the Late Deadline is June 30, and the Extended Deadline is July 7. Fiction podcast has a regular deadline May 10 and a Late Deadline of July 7.

About Austin Film Festival

Austin Film Festival (AFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft, and business of writers and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television and new media. AFF champions the work of aspiring and established writers and filmmakers by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. www.austinfilmfestival.com

2017 Eisner Nominations

Today, San Diego Comic Con International announced the nominations for the 2017 Eisner awards! We’re super excited for and proud of the THREE nominees from our Skybound family.

The GREEN VALLEY creative team received two nominations. The first for Max Landis for Best Writer. The second for Jean-Francois Beaulieu for best colorist.

Also nominated for best colorist for her work on OUTCAST by KIRKMAN & AZACETA (along with a boat load of other Image titles) is Elizabeth Breitweiser!

We also want to give a big congrats to all of our friends and partners at Image for their noms, including SAGA from Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples! Awesome work, guys!

This Week’s Comics: Extremity, Manifest Destiny, Outcast & The Walking Dead!

Who’s ready for a HUGE week of new comics? This week, EXTREMITY, MANIFEST DESTINY, OUTCAST & THE WALKING DEAD are all new!

This week you’ve got a chance to catch up on our new hit-series Extremity! Not only is issue #3 hitting shelves but the 3rd print of issue #1 and the 2nd print of issue #2 will be out as well. Get a preview of issue #3 below!

Outcast #27 also lands this week and Kyle’s powers are continuing to grow. We also get some new answers and, of course, amazing art from Paul Azaceta & Elizabeth Breitweiser! After you’ve read the book, don’t forget to head over to OutcastOfficial.com and enter our comment contest for a chance to win a signed copy of issue #27!

Issue #28 of Manifest Destiny will be on shelves Wednesday as well. Things are still not what they seem and everything is coming to a head. Check out the first 3 pages below!

And, as if all of that wasn’t enough, The Walking Dead #167 is also out Wednesday! There’s not much we can say about this one but you won’t want to miss it. Once you’ve finished reading, head over to TheWalkingDead.com to share all your feels and join our comment contest for a chance to win a signed copy of issue #167!

Like we said, lots of awesome stuff this week. More comics than you can shake a stick at! Let us know what you’re looking forward to or, once you’ve read everything, your thoughts in the comments below. Happy reading!

EXTREMITY #3

STORY/ART/COVER: DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON

COLOR: MIKE SPICER

MAY 3

32 PAGES | Full Color | Teen+ | $3.99

Not so long ago, Thea was an artist. She had a family. Now she is consumed by vengeance. However, Brynjar is a hunter by nature, and will not be easy prey.

      

MANIFEST DESTINY #28

STORY: CHRIS DINGESS

ART/COVER: MATTHEW ROBERTS & OWEN GIENI

MAY 3

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

Sacagawea’s long held mistrust of the white man manifests, as Lewis takes desperate measures to quell the chaos that has overtaken the fort.

      

OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #27

STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART / COVER: PAUL AZACETA & ELIZABETH BREITWEISER

MAY 3

32 PAGES | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

“A NEW WAY”

Kyle is taken on a journey to find answers, and along the way is forced to use his newly honed abilities. The evil around him is growing stronger–causing Reverend Anderson to seek out new allies.

THE WALKING DEAD #167

STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART: CHARLIE ADLARD, STEFANO GAUDIANO & CLIFF RATHBURN

COVER: CHARLIE ADLARD & DAVE STEWART

MAY 3

32 PAGES | Black & White | Mature | $2.99

“A Certain Doom”

Is it possible, could it be, that the inevitable can somehow be… avoided? Rick and Andrea have a tough decision to make.

Skybound Partners with Druid City Games for new Tabletop Game!

We’ve got another exciting announcement to share with you guys! Skybound is partnering with the insanely cool Druid City Games to help with the launch of their new game The Grimm Forest. Grimm Forest was wildly popular on Kickstarter and we can’t wait to add it to our stable of games alongside Superfight & Red Flags!

We’ll have more info for you soon, but, for now, you can read the full press release below.

SKYBOUND ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS WITH DRUID CITY GAMES FOR NEW TABLETOP GAME

The Grimm Forest Will Launch after a Successful Kickstarter Campaign

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 20, 2017) – Skybound Entertainment, the multi-platform entertainment company started by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert and centered around creators working in film and television, games, comics, and more, has partnered with Druid City Games to create the fable-based tabletop game The Grimm Forest. The partnership is a result of the game’s highly successful Kickstarter campaign, where publisher James Hudson set an initial goal of $35,000 and has now raised over $405,000 for the game.

“We’re excited to welcome The Grimm Forest to the Skybound Games family.” said Skybound Entertainment Senior Vice President of Business Development, Shawn Kirkham. “Tim Eisner’s (designer) original take on well-known stories is an ideal experience for the fable-tales fandom, as well as fans of Skybound’s brand of creative storytelling.”

The Grimm Forest is the latest IP to join notable properties such as The Walking Dead, Invincible, and Outcast. Previous tabletop games out of Skybound include the popular card games Superfight and Red Flags.

“To say that I am excited to work with the team at Skybound, would be a massive understatement. I couldn’t imagine a better partner to help bring the world of The Grimm Forest to life,” said publisher James Hudson. “It is a dream to think about the areas the IP could go. Tim Eisner hit a grand slam with this design and I could not be happier with the support we received in our Kickstarter campaign. Our backers were so passionate about the project, and had so many great ideas that we were able to fit into the game.”

The Grimm Forest is expected to arrive in stores in late 2017.

About Skybound Entertainment:

Founded in 2010, Skybound Entertainment is a multiplatform entertainment company that houses projects ranging from television, film, digital content, comics, interactive, live events, and gaming.

Skybound Entertainment is responsible for such television hits including The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead and Outcast. Moving into the digital content space, Skybound produced the first- ever narrative VR series, GONE, for Samsung’s Milk VR platform and in 2017 will produce VR horror series Lies Within, which is the first project out of Skybound’s partnership with interactive theatrical company Delusion. Skyboud recently announced the film adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s second-longest running comic series Invincible, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg attached to direct, write, and produce the movie for Universal.