Robert Kirkman's Blog, page 55

Out This Week- Sept 20th

It’s Tuesday, September 20th, 2016 and we’re here to update you on another great week of comics and games from Skybound! Issue #2 of Demonic, #3 of Horizon, & #23 of Manifest Destiny are all out this Wednesday. Superfight The Video Game just got some new decks and cool new achievements to unlock, and there are some new Skybound quizzes up on the web! Thanks for watching and we’ll be back every Tuesday of every week to tell you what’s coming out – only on OUT THIS WEEK!

December 2016 Books Announced! Solicits!

We’re quickly reaching the end of September (where has this year gone!) which means it’s time for new solicits! We’ve submitted our December books for retailers to check out/order and that means we’re sharing them with you too. Lots of awesome comics for you this month including 3 new trades!

DEMONIC #5 (of 6)

Story: Christopher Sebela

Art | Cover: Niko Walter & Dan Brown

DECEMBER 21

32 Pages | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

The trap is set. The Streets of NY are now a gauntlet for Demonic to run. But Scott Graves didn’t sell his soul to be caught by cops. He has his own idea of justice, that doesn’t rely on the values of weak men.

GREEN VALLEY #3 (of 9)



Story: Max Landis

Art/Cover: Giuseppe Camuncoil, Cliff Rathburn & Jean-Francois Beaulieu

DECEMBER 14

32 Pages | Full Color | Teen + | $2.99

THE WIZARD REVEALED

Max Landis & Giuseppe Camuncoli’s epic adventure takes an unexpected turn!

HORIZON #6

Story: Brandon Thomas

Art: Juan Gedeon & Frank Martin

Cover: Jason Howard

DECEMBER 21

32 Pages | Full Color | Teen + | $2.99

END OF STORY ARC

Zhia Malen fights only one way: to the death

INVINCIBLE #134

Story: Robert Kirkman

Art: Ryan Ottley & Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Cover: Ryan Ottley & Dace McCaig

DECEMBER 28

24 Pages | Full Color | Teen + | $2.99

“THE END OF ALL THINGS,” Part Two

Mark Grayson is torn between two worlds as events build to an epic confrontation between the Coalition of Planets and Thragg’s New Viltrumite Empire! We continue out march to INVINCIBLE’s conclusion

OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #24



Story: Robert Kirkman

Art | Cover: Paul Azaceta & Elizabeth Breitweiser

DECEMBER 28

32 Pages | Full Color | Mature | $2.99

“NO TURNING BACK”

It is time to say goodbye to someone… and hello to someone else

THE WALKING DEAD #161

   

Story: Robert Kirkman

Art: Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano & Cliff Rathburn

Cover A: Charlie Adlard & Dave Stewart

Cover B (connecting): Arthur Adams & Nathan Fairbairn

DECEMBER 7

32 Pages | Black & White | Mature | $2.99

“The Whisperer War,” Part Five

BIRTHRIGHT, VOL. 4: FAMILY HISTORY TP

Story: Joshua Williamson

Art/Cover: Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas

DECEMBER 14

112 Pages | Full Color | Teen + | $12.99

The longer Mikey Rhodes remains on Earth, the more the evil within him is unleashed. As the remaining mages gather to take him down, a lost member of the Rhodes family returns… but can they recover from the damage already done?

INVINCIBLE, VOL. 23 TP

Story: Robert Kirkman

Art/Cover: Cory Walker & Nathan Fairbairn

DECEMBER 21

152 Pages | Full Color | Teen + | $16.99

Mark has returned from the past… to a very different future. Now he has to pick up the pieces of his life and try to put them back together. INVINCIBLE co-creator CORY WALKER returns to the book to set the stage for the next chapter of Invincible’s life!

Collects INVINCIBLE #127-132

MANIFEST DESTINY, VOL 4: SASQUATCH TP

Story: Chris Dingess

Art/Cover: Matthew Roberts, Tony Akins & Owen Gieni

DECEMBER 21

128 Pages | Full Color | Teen + | $14.99

Lewis & Clark didn’t lead the first expedition west… nor were they the first to encounter the BIGGEST mammal in all the land: SASQUATCH! Many have claimed to have seen this legendary creature… now join the men who made first contact!

This Week’s Comics: Demonic #2 Horizon #3 & Manifest Destiny #23

Got another big week for books coming your way on Wednesday! First, we’re hitting you with DEMONIC #2: Scott continues his fight to save his family but how far will he have to sink to get the job done? We also have HORIZON #3: you’ll learn more about our heroic alien team and those that are trying to stop them. Plenty of action in this one! Finally, we’ve got MANIFEST DESTINY #23: while Lewis and Clark try to make camp, it’s time to check back in with Helm as he slowly sinks further into madness. Good times!!!

Also, because we’re awesome, we’ve got previews of all 3 books below for you! Take a peek and let us know what you’re most looking forward to in the comments.

DEMONIC #2 (of 6)

STORY: CHRISTOPHER SEBELA

ART | COVER: NIKO WALTER & DAN BROWN

SEPTEMBER 21 | 32 PAGES | FULL COLOR | MATURE | $2.99

To save his daughter, Scott Graves made a bargain with Aeshma, a demon that only he can see and hear. Now he must harvest enough souls to quench her thirst, while NY’s finest investigate the trail of the dead.

    

    

HORIZON #3

STORY: BRANDON THOMAS

ART: JUAN GEDEON & FRANK MARTIN

COVER: JASON HOWARD

SEPTEMBER 21 | 32 PAGES | FULL COLOR | TEEN+ | $2.99

Finn Toppa didn’t wish for death until his fifth night on Earth. Yet despite the pain, past the humiliation, he knows for a fact that Zhia is coming to rescue him. The sound of gunfire tells him she’s getting closer…

     

MANIFEST DESTINY #23

STORY: CHRIS DINGESS

ART | COVER: MATTHEW ROBERTS, TONY AKINS & OWEN GIENI

SEPTEMBER 21 | 32 PAGES | FULL COLOR | TEEN+ | $2.99

“SASQUATCH” Part 5 of 6

Seeking safe haven, Lewis & Clark pursue an alliance with the Teton tribe, who are rightfully as wary of the white man as they are the beasts in the forest.

  

How Well Do You Know Invincible?

Think you’re the biggest INVINCIBLE fan out there?? PROVE IT! We’ve created the ultimate INVINCIBLE trivia quiz to decide whether you’re an INVINCIBLE Novice, Beginner, Pro, or Expert! Test your skills and react to your results in the comments below. (Also make sure to grab some awesome INVINCIBLE merch in our shop!)

TheBlerdGurl Interviews Shawn Martinbrough

Thief of Thieves #35 comes out in just 2 weeks and continues the Gold Rush storyline. Our good buddy and Thief of Thieves artist, Shawn Martinbrough, sat down with The BlerdGurl to chat about his career in comics and all things Thief of Thieves!

The BlerdGurl:For those readers who are unfamiliar, please tell us how long you’ve been in the comic book biz and some of the imprints that you’ve worked with.

Shawn Martinbrough: I landed my first professional job from Marvel back 1992. Since then, I’ve continued to work with Marvel, DC, Vertigo, Dark Horse and currently, Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment and IMAGE.

TBG: The new ARC of your long-running series “Thief of Thieves” (#32) came out right before SDCC and I see there’s a new team, & more danger, but where’s my girl Liz?

SM: We all love the character of FBI agent Elizabeth Cohen but the story for this arc of TOT is primarily set overseas in locations such as London, Dubai and Russia. The new players and adversaries are international so Cohen doesn’t fit into this storyline. I do have an idea of how we could possibly bring her back for the next arc but we’re still figuring out the direction of the story.

TBG: Was Elizabeth originally written to be an African-American female character? Or did the concept change as the story was developed?

SM: No. When we started working together on the series and I began designing the characters, Robert sent me a description of “Elizabeth Cohen” and her role in the TOT story. He didn’t specify her ethnicity or age. I thought it would be interesting to make Elizabeth a woman of color and Robert went right along with the idea. In his words, “Oh, Elizabeth’s black? Cool.”

To read the rest of the interview and see more of Shawn’s art, head over to The BlerdGurl.

Out This Week: Birthright #19 & Walking Dead TP 26!

It’s that time of the week again. Time to share the titles we’ve got coming your way this New Comic Book Day! We’ve got some Birthright for you and some more Walking Dead.

Birthright #19 is up first. Mikey’s back and stuff is about to go down! This issue is action-packed and the last page… well we won’t spoil it, but just know it’s awesome! The first 5 pages are below.

Check out the preview of our newest book, Green Valley, in the back of the issue. We’ve got 5 pages of Max Landis’ new book for you to give a once over. You’re not gonna wanna miss this one when it comes out October 5th!

This week also brings the next Walking Dead trade paperback. Volume 26 covers issue #151-#156; everything up to the current Whisperer War storyline. We’re only two chapters into the war so this is a great time to get caught up on all things The Walking Dead!

BIRTHRIGHT #19

STORY: JOSHUA WILLIAMSON

ART | COVER: ANDREI BRESSAN & ADRIANO LUCAS

SEPTEMBER 14 | 32 PAGES | FULL COLOR | TEEN+ | $2.99

While the Rhodes men defend themselves from an assault on Sameal’s lair, Rya experiences complications with giving birth on Earth.

       

THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 26 TPB 

STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART: CHARLIE ADLARD, STEFANO GAUDIANO & CLIFF RATHBURN

COVER: CHARLIE ADLARD & DAVE STEWART

SEPTEMBER 14 | 136 PAGES | BLACK & WHITE | MATURE | $14.99

After being betrayed by members of his own community, Rick Grimes charts a new course and marshals his forces against the Whisperers.

Collects THE WALKING DEAD #151-156.

Happy National Video Game Day!

Today is National Video Game Day! It’s no secret that we LOVE video games. Console games, PC games, mobile games, RPGs, multiplayers, we’re into them all! To celebrate here’s a list of the awesome games we here at Skybound are involved with! Celebrate the day and give one of them a shot!

Telltale’s The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is an episodic video game series based on Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic books. Season One of The Walking Dead won over 90 Game of the Year Awards.

Season Two continues the Season One story. You are Clementine, a young survivor in a world gone to hell. The dead have risen to feast on the living, and the living cannot be trusted.

The Walking Dead: Michonne follows the iconic blade-wielding character when she leaves Rick, their group, and her katana behind, in order to deal with emotional demons from her past.

The next installment in the series, Telltale’s The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, debuts in November

The Walking Dead: Road to Survival

A thrilling, mature adventure constantly toeing the line between life and the undead, Walking Dead: Road to Survival is the definitive Walking Dead role-playing game experience. Based on an all-new story from award winning Walking Dead writer Jay Bonansinga, the dark aesthetic of this game reflects the uncompromising decisions you will need to make as you fight for survival.

Superfight the Video Game

The hit card game goes digital with over SEVEN HUNDRED cards, including the Core, Blue, Purple, and Challenge Decks! Create fighters from random cards, then go head to head and argue over who would win in a fight. Unlock new content by playing a match with up to 4 players OR voting as a spectator!

Tabletop Simulator feat Superfight DLC

Not only is Superfight it’s own stand-alone video-enabled, online game, it’s also great DLC for Tabletop Simulator, complete with our expansion decks!

The Escapists The Walking Dead

In this unique game, recreated entirely in the charming 8-bit pixel art style of The Escapists, Rick is in charge of a band of survivors featuring many of the original comic book cast. He must secure the safety of the group by seeking out a safe escape route from each area, and manage several dangerous tasks to keep as many of the group alive as possible.

Oxenfree

Oxenfree is a single player game that’s equal parts coming-of-age tale and supernatural thriller. You play as Alex, a bright, rebellious teenaged girl who brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on a decommissioned military island. The festivities are framed by a dangerous sneak to a forbidden beach, celebrating with friends and navigating prickly situations with enemies. But the night takes a horrifying turn when you unwittingly open a ghostly rift spawned from the island’s cryptic past. How you deal with these events, your peers, and the ominous creatures you’ve unleashed is up to you.

Labyrinth

Tactical RPG meets collectable card game!

Assemble your Heroes, build decks, and delve into 3D dungeons on Player vs. Player raids. Then, customize your own dungeon decks with Boss, monster, and trap cards to guard your loot.

The Walking Dead Assault

Play as your favorite characters from the series – Rick, Glenn, Shane, Carl, Andrea, Lori and more! Assemble and choose your ultimate team of four, hunt for supplies, upgrade, and use unique special character abilities to survive against the zombie horror!

Sandbox Invincible DLC

Play God to create worlds & life, or destroy everything with a tap of your finger in The Sandbox! Imagine crafting your own 8bit pixel world, playing with Humans, Ninjas, Robots or Zombies, composing your own music and much more! Craft new elements, create custom art from tiny pixels, or build your own town. The universe is yours to create or destroy, and the only limit is your imagination!

#IDARB Walking Dead & Invincible DLC

#IDARB is a competitive couch multiplayer platform game for up to 8 players, unapologetically inspired by games like Bomberman, Smash Bros. and NBA Jam. It has a crazy amount of customization, allows spectators to interact with the games they’re watching in a way similar to “Twitch plays Pokemon,” and oh yeah, was entirely designed by our fans and friends on Twitter.

Overkill’s The Walking Dead (currently in production)

OVERKILL – a Starbreeze Studio, will deliver a completely new co-op experience to The Walking Dead universe, exploring new characters and storylines. It will be gameplay focused, ferocious and bring chaos to the traditional industry model – from us developers straight to you. This time it’s big – don’t walk alone.

Out This Week: The Walking Dead #158 & TWD #157 2nd Print!

It’s a very Walking Dead kinda week. We’ve got Part 2 of the Whisperer War, Walking Dead #158, which ramps up the action! Seriously, this issue is so tense! This issue’s got two covers. Regular by Charlie Adlard and B cover featuring Jesus from Art Adams.

We’ve also got a 2nd printing of both covers for part one of the Whisperer War, issue #157! If you missed out on it the first time around, now’s your time to grab a copy from your favorite retailer!

THE WALKING DEAD #158

STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART: CHARLIE ADLARD, STEFANO GAUDIANO & CLIFF RATHBURN

COVER: CHARLIE ADLARD & DAVE STEWART

SEPTEMBER 7 | 32 PAGES | BLACK AND WHITE/ MATURE | $2.99

THE WHISPERER WAR PART 2

The war rages on.

THE WALKING DEAD #157 2ND PRINT



STORY: ROBERT KIRKMAN

ART: CHARLIE ADLARD, STEFANO GAUDIANO & CLIFF RATHBURN

COVER: CHARLIE ADLARD & DAVE STEWART

SEPTEMBER 7 | 32 PAGES | BLACK & WHITE | MATURE | $2.99 | 2nd Print

THE WHISPERER WAR PART 1

The time has come. The forces are aligning. The war has begun! Has Rick brought about the demise of everything he’s built? Or will he triumph once again? Know this… there will be a cost.

Superfight Free Trial Weekend

PAX West is this weekend (we’re at booth #6602, by the way) and, in honor of the gaming event, Superfight the Video Game will be free to play on Steam Thursday through Sunday! It’s your chance to try to test out your most absurd arguments online at no cost to you. Grab your friends and your best debating skills and check it out.

You can get more info and read the full press release below:

Start September off Right with a Free SUPERFIGHT Weekend

Eugene, OR — August 30th, 2016 — The leaves are changing color, the sun is ducking behind the horizon earlier each day, and pumpkin spice flavoring has begun its annual infiltration into every food you love. It’s almost Fall, and we’re celebrating the changing of the seasons with a temporary changing of our prices. In other words, we’re hosting a free SUPERFIGHT weekend on Steam!

From September 1st at 10AM PDT to September 5th at 10AM PDT, anyone with a Steam account will be able to download and try SUPERFIGHT, the game of absurd arguments, at no cost!

This is your chance to not only check out SUPERFIGHT at no cost, but to also take a look at the new features we’ve added to the game, including the Challenge Deck game modifier, art gallery, and reworked tiebreaker system.

What is SUPERFIGHT?

SUPERFIGHT pits players against one another in hypothetical battles of real wit. The only way to win is to make the most compelling argument about the big questions in life: Who would win in a fight between a drunk Ninja and Abraham Lincoln riding a bear? Which is the better weapon: an infinite sausage lasso or a skunk on a stick? What are the chances an army of penguins could stop a depressed centaur? Grab a microphone, join or create a game with up to 4 players, and let the votes decide!

Build your fighter with character cards (like Zombie, Shark, or George W. Bush) and attribute cards (like Super Speed, Armed with a Chainsaw, or Has Tiny T-Rex Arms). When it’s your turn, simply pick one character card and one attribute card to construct their fighters, then after getting another random attribute, it’s up to you to make your case to an audience of friends or Twitch! The included FREE Blue, Purple, and Challenge Decks also allow players to throw hundreds of random locations, scenarios, and challenges into the mix for even MORE mayhem. Additional themed decks, like the R-rated Red Deck or the Geek themed Orange Deck, are available to purchase, with even more hilarious digital decks to come in future updates

SUPERFIGHT’s fantastically fabulous features:

·PLAY with a group of up to four players using matchmaking or inviting your friends.

·VOTE on fighters from previous games, guessing a matchup’s outcome to earn rewards.

·ARGUE using integrated in-game voice and optional webcam support to make your case!

·WATCH and vote for winners in live broadcasts of fights directly within Superfight or any device with Twitch!

·COLLECT over 500 additional cards, on top of the 200+ cards unlocked immediately upon purchase, as you Play or Vote!

·UNLOCK over 130 Titles based on how you play! Customize your round introduction with your Titles.

·EXPAND your card count with the included free Location, Scenario, and Challenge Decks! More decks available as DLC!

·LINK your Twitch account to earn bonus rewards while Broadcasting or Voting on live games (streaming not required to play)!

SUPERFIGHT is available via digital download on STEAM via the following link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/404770/

For more information on SUPERFIGHT please visit SuperfightLive.com.

About 505 Games

505 Games is a global video game publisher focused on offering a broad selection of titles for players of all ages and levels. The company publishes games on leading console and handheld platforms as well as for mobile devices and social networks. Product highlights include, Sniper Elite 3, PAYDAY 2, Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons, Terraria, How To Survive, Defense Grid 2, and the upcoming ABZU and ADR1FT.

505 Games has offices in Los Angeles, Milton Keynes, UK, Lyon, Munich, Milan and Madrid and a network of distribution partners within the Nordic territories and Australia. For more information on 505 Games and its products please visit www.505games.com.



About Pipeworks Studio

Since 1999, Pipeworks has been creating hit games from the indie-games bastion of Eugene, Oregon. Now part of the global Digital Bros Group, we focus on developing and operating innovative live games on all popular digital platforms. With more than twenty million people around the world having played our games, Pipeworks creates distinctive original game properties in addition to long-term collaborations with select partners. We believe in clever gameplay, powerful simplicity, high fidelity, community interaction, games that live on, and having fun above all. Find us at www.Pipeworks.com.

About Skybound

In 2010, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman saw an opportunity to start a company that would nurture creators and give them resources to produce content while retaining creative control of their properties. Partnering with longtime collaborator, and fellow executive producer of The Walking Dead television franchise David Alpert, Skybound Entertainment was born. Since opening its doors Skybound Entertainment has grown into a multiplatform entertainment company.

Skybound television properties include both The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead as well as the Kirkman-created Outcast. Gaming and interactive properties include The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Overkill’s The Walking Dead as well as tabletop game properties Superfight and Red Flags. Other comic book titles published by Skybound include The Walking Dead, the superhero comic Invincible, the atmospheric exorcism comic Outcast, fantasy adventure comic Birthright, and historical fantasy adventure series Manifest Destiny. For more info visit www.Skybound.com.

Behind the Covers of HORIZON

Last week we showed you what it takes to go from sketch to fully realized cover for THIEF OF THIEVES. This week, we asked HORIZON writer, Brandon Thomas, to share with us some thoughts on the first covers for the series, drawn by Jason Howard (Who, in addition to killer HORIZON covers, draws TREES and SUPER DINOSAUR). We’ve also got your first exclusive look at the cover for issue 6! See what Brandon has to say below and let us know which cover you like the most in the comments.

Brandon Thomas: It took us a while to get this one just right, but what we landed on exceeded my wildest expectations. The name that instantly came to mind when Jason Howard’s first sketches came in was Saul Bass. Cool, angular, sexy, and abstract weren’t words I imagined describing the covers for Horizon, but it seems like the most natural and obvious decision in the world now. This is an unconventional book with a premise and cast to match, and it needed something like this to really grab people’s attention and force them to dive into the glorious art by Juan Gedeon, Frank Martin, and Rus Wooton.

Since it’s the first cover, this will likely be the defining piece of promo artwork for the series, and it’s somehow simple and enormously complex at the same time. One woman against a world, armed with almost nothing but her own self-righteousness, standing on a planet of the dead with a survival state of mind. It tells you everything in one image, but it doesn’t explain it, which is our job once Jason has convinced you to crack open the comic and peek inside. Once we get to the point where this is getting blown up on posters, or on the side of the Skybound booth at shows, it’s going to be serious emotions all around.

But this got us off to an excellent start, didn’t it?

Brandon Thomas: Love, love, LOVE this cover, and it’s a clear reminder to never leave a good idea behind. A few of the roughs for #1 included a subtle skull shape resting on the image of Earth, but it seemed one tiny detail too many. So instead that idea mutated and exploded into what Jason delivered here, and I’m sure we can agree that it’s again amazing. Projecting the skull into the sky and contrasting that giant, ominous image over our smaller main characters gives this cover a cool double meaning. Does the skull refer to their adversaries on Earth, and the fact they’re hopelessly outnumbered and somewhat in over their heads, or is it more a subtle projection of their own will and intentions to tear our world down around us? Love stuff like that.

Brandon Thomas: I call this one “needle point” in my head, and it just makes me feel bad for some of the punishment heaped upon one of our main characters. Someone had to draw the short straw, and it’s definitely Finn in this case, so expect this image and the moments it’s alluding to to become an even larger aspect of the book going forward. His ordeal while captured by Earth’s forces changes the entire dynamic within the group, how he views himself and his team/family, and a host of other dramatic shifts. Every time I look at this cover what I really feel is dread, because the worst is not even close to here. Mild spoiler for this issue: major, major villain steps onto the scene for the first time.

Brandon Thomas: Another great image that can be “read” a few different ways. Is that a massive cloud up in the sky there, or a booming explosion? However it feels or looks to you absolutely works, and the circuitry filling the background is yet another nice detail that suggests something, without telling you outright what it really means. Big idea we’re always playing with in Horizon is that “nothing is as it seems,” and Jason keeps turning in covers that operate on multiple layers. More lovely work.

Brandon Thomas: Tide begins to turn here, and after getting separated, captured, beaten up, and chased around, our Valian insurgents begin to land their first solid blows. We’ve talked about propaganda ads and recruitment posters a lot, and this has that kind of feel to me, something triumphant and overly confident. We played with a couple different color combinations, but the white figure looked particularly striking coming through the red. Also, really love the purplish background and the scrolling text, which gives us another great bit of texture and provides a subtle clue to what’s going down during this issue.

Brandon Thomas: Can’t say too much about this one except that it’s my absolute favorite thus far. This came from another brilliant sketch by Jason, which was almost used much earlier. We decided to hold it back for a few reasons, most of them major spoilers, but ultimately because this is the end of our first arc and we wanted to end it with a serious bang. Everything about Horizon #6 is monumental and epic, and it’s by far the best issue yet, so it deserved a cover that raised eyebrows and demands to be picked up off the shelf. Just don’t skip to the end!