Happy New Year! Okay, so that’s, what, about three months early? But Image Comics did release their solicitations for their releases in January 2015 yesterday so we’re getting a glimpse of all the good things the new year will be bringing. Check out our top 10 picks of Image’s releases in January 2015 to see all the awesome that is coming our way soon.
10. The Most Interesting Solicit Ever
When you call a comic “Punks: The Comic”, you know you’re in for some good shit. Throw in some fantastic cover work like #4’s amazing homage to Todd McFarlane’s “Spider-Man” #1 and you really have my attention. But the kicker for this issue is the solicitation copy which sounds like the most “fuck it” solicitation I’ve ever read, and it’s perfectly in keeping with the theme of the comic itself. This is how you sell a comic through solicitations.
PUNKS: THE COMIC #4
story: JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV
art / cover: KODY CHAMBERLAIN
cover B: JOEY INFURNARIJANUARY 14 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99
I’ve written a lot of solicitation copy in my life. I am always curious if people actually read it or not. If you’re reading this, email us at mail@punksthecomic.com and we’ll send you a free digital thing.
From Eisner and Harvey nominees JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV (The Bunker, I, Vampire) and KODY CHAMBERLAIN (Sweets, The Ride) yada yada yada.
9. New Year, New “Stray Bullets”
I’ll have to admit something before we get into this: I haven’t checked out “Stray Bullets” yet. I know, I know, I can already feel the wrath of the Almighty Meylikhov bearing down upon me, but I do know that I love David Lapham’s work from the Marvel work he’s done (go find a copy of “Wolverine: Debt Of Death” and thank me). So when “Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses” #1 promises a new arc of stories for the New Year, I am interested in checking it out. This is the perfect jumping on point for a comic I hear a lot of good things about and looks to be a lot of fun. Check it out.
STRAY BULLETS: SUNSHINE & ROSES #1
story / art / cover: DAVID LAPHAMJANUARY 21 / 32 PAGES / BW / M / $3.50
STRAY BULLETS CONTINUES WITH THE BEGINNING OF A BRAND-NEW ARC OF STORIES!
SUNSHINE AND ROSES is about violence, love, and really bad decisions. The Baltimore underworld is falling apart at the seams and blood has been spilt. Where and when things went to hell in a handbasket can be traced back to a time a few years earlier, when a man named Harry ran the city, Spanish Scott and Monster enforced the rules, and an insecure young man named Orson met a wild and crazy girl named Beth. The two together cooked up the boldest, most outlandish, and just about the stupidest plan ever devised—a plan to steal a whole lot of Harry’s money and drugs and get a little revenge along the way.While every issue of STRAY BULLETS presents a complete story, the start of each new arc is the perfect place to jump on board and see what everybody else is talking about.
8. Henshin-A-Go-Go, Baby!
I shouldn’t have to tell you that “I Kill Giants” is a beautiful book. It was amazingly well written by Joe Kelly and beautifully illustrated by Ken Niimura. Well, good news for fans of “I Kill Giants” as in January, Image will be printing Niimura’s “Henshin” for the first time in English. Told as something of an anthology, “Henshin” follows the lives of people throughout Tokyo as it shows us a glimpse of the city in a way that only Ken Niimura can. This one should not be missed.
Continued belowHENSHIN OGN
story / art / cover: KEN NIIMURAJANUARY 14 / 288 PAGES / BW / T+ / $19.99
I KILL GIANTS co-creator KEN NIIMURA (International Manga Award winner and Eisner nominee) brings a unique vision of life in Japan to the page in HENSHIN. The lives of a kid with peculiar superpowers, a lonely girl discovering herself in the big city, and a businessman on a long night out are some of the short stories included in this collection that will make you laugh, and even maybe shed a tear. Explore Tokyo as you’ve never seen it before under NIIMURA’s masterful and imaginative storytelling, printed here for the first time in English.
7. “Spawn” Turns 250
I’m not going to lie, I am continually surprised that “Spawn” is still going. For a character that seems to encapsulate all the excesses of 90’s comics, it surprises me that he is still popular enough today to hit 250 issues. And yet, in January, Image will indeed be publishing “Spawn” #250 so that shows what I know. The issue will be triple sized to celebrate the anniversary and promises the return of the original Spawn, Al Simmons. But perhaps more interesting is the line-up of cover artists for the issue including Todd McFarlane himself, Greg Capullo, Skottie Young, Jock, Sean Murphy and Phillip Tan. I may not read “Spawn”, but I cannot wait to see those covers.
SPAWN #250
story / cover A: TODD MCFARLANE
art: SZYMON KUDRANSKI
cover B: GREG CAPULLO
cover C: SKOTTIE YOUNG
cover D: JOCK
cover E: SEAN MURPHY
cover F: PHILIP TANJANUARY 14 / 64 PAGES / FC / T+ / $5.99
This HUGE, TRIPLE-SIZED 250th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE marks only the second time an independent comic book has reached such a lofty number! This issue marks the cataclysmic climax in the story of the current Spawn: Jim Downing’s final struggle against his costume while the fate of New York City lies in the balance.
From the ashes of that battlefield comes the long awaited return of the original Spawn… AL SIMMONS.
The celebration of this anniversary issue will feature covers from TODD MCFARLANE, GREG CAPULLO (Batman), SKOTTIE YOUNG (Rocket Raccoon), JOCK (Detective Comics), SEAN MURPHY (The Wake), and PHILIP TAN (Batman and Robin).
6. The End Of “Roche Limit”‘s First Arc
So, as it turns out, “Roche Limit” was a really good combination of science fiction and gritty crime drama, bringing together the best talents of Michael Moreci and Vic Malhotra. In January, the first arc of “Roche Limit” and the first story of Moreci and Malhotra’s series comes to an end. I cannot wait to see how this story closes off and, more importantly, I cannot wait to see where it will go after that. Everyone should be checking out “Roche Limit”.
ROCHE LIMIT #5
story: MICHAEL MORECI
art / cover: VIC MALHOTRAJANUARY 21 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50
Alex, Sonya, and Bekkah desperately try to get off of Roche Limit and escape the escalating destruction. Learn the secrets of the anomaly in the final issue of the first volume of the critically acclaimed breakout hit!
5. New Year, New Printings Of All Your Favourite Trade Paperbacks
It is pretty undisputed at this point that Image are super great when it comes to putting out collections of their series. At only $9.99 for most of their first volume tpbs, they make a great introduction to the series and great gifts to anyone who missed out on the first couple of issues. Which is why it’s also great that in January, Image will be putting some of their best first volume trade paperbacks back into print. The list includes “Deadly Class”, “East Of West”, “God Hates Astronauts”, “Mind The Gap”, “Sex” and “Sheltered” as well as other trade paperbacks like “Battle Pope” vol. 3, “Chew” vol. 2, new printings of the “Hack/Slash” omnibus collections vol. 1 and 2, “Magdalena Origins” vol. 1, the “Rising Stars” compendium and “Spawn Origins” vol. 1. That’s a lot of really great collections going back into print for anyone who missed out on them first time around and a great way to star off the year.
Continued belowDEADLY CLASS, VOL 1: REAGAN YOUTH TP (NEW PRINTING)
story: RICK REMENDER
art / cover: WESLEY CRAIG & LEE LOUGHRIDGEJANUARY 7 / 160 PAGES / FC / M / $9.99
BACK IN PRINT!
It’s 1987. Marcus Lopez hates school. His grades suck. The jocks are hassling his friends. He can’t focus in class. But the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin’s top assassin, the teachers are members of an ancient league of assassins, the class he’s failing is “Dismemberment 101” and his crush has a double-digit body count. Welcome to the most brutal high school on earth, where the world’s top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the dagger in your back isn’t always metaphorical.Collects DEADLY CLASS #1-6
And too many others to put here.
5. Are You Ready For Some Big, Hard Love?
Yeah, I love “Sex Criminals”. It is funny, heartfelt, touching, funny, surprisingly human, and did I mention funny? It features some amazing art from Chip Zdarsky who blends a sense of design work in the unreality of The Quiet and a focus on character expression to bring out the hilarity of the mundane in the real world of the book. Not to mention that it has some of Matt Fraction’s best writing to date which is saying something seeing as the last couple of years have been something of a streak for him in terms of great writing. So, getting a hardcover collection of the first ten issues so soon after “Just The Tips” is just the best thing ever.
BIG HARD SEX CRIMINALS HC
story: MATT FRACTION
art / cover: ZIGGY CHOOCHJANUARY 14 / 320 PAGES / FC / Mx1000 / $39.99
Collecting the first ten issues of the Eisner and Harvey award-winning, TIME Magazine Best Comic of the year of our lord 2013, SEX CRIMINALS, in an oversized hardcover format guaranteed to embarrass you to order.
3. “Criminal” Comes To Image
Before “The Fade Out”, before “Velvet”, before “Fatale” and even before “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, Ed Brubaker was rocking the comic book crime fiction world with Sean Phillips in “Criminal”. Now, with the exclusivity deal to Image, Brubaker and Phillips’ “Criminal” is coming to Image in January. With a new printing of the first trade paperback, Brubaker and Phillips will also be putting out a “Criminal: Special Edition” one-shot, a brand new one-shot designed to bring fans of their newer series to check out their older work. There will also be “Criminal: Savage Edition”, which is the same one-shot in a magazine size variant. It’s a good time to be a Brubaker and Phillips fan.
CRIMINAL SPECIAL EDITION (ONE-SHOT)
story: ED BRUBAKER
art: SEAN PHILLIPS & ELIZABETH BREITWEISER
cover: SEAN PHILLIPSJANUARY 28 / 48 PAGES / FC / M / $4.99
CRIMINAL COMES TO IMAGE!
To celebrate the return of CRIMINAL to print, BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS return to their award-winning title for the first time in years for a 48-page special sure the thrill their readers, old and new alike!It’s 1976, and Teeg Lawless is doing 30 days in county jail with a price on his head, his only safe company from the savagery a beat-up old comic magazine his dead cellmate left behind. It’s CRIMINAL like you’ve never seen it before, with a comic within the comic and all those slick ‘70s thrills!
“Brubaker and Phillips are the gold standard of the crime graphic novel.” – Warren Ellis
CRIMINAL, VOL. 1: COWARD TP (NEW PRINTING)
story: ED BRUBAKER
art: SEAN PHILLIPS & VAL STAPLES
cover: SEAN PHILLIPSJANUARY 28 / 144 PAGES / FC / M / $14.99
The bestselling crime series returns to print in strikingly-designed new editions from Image, starting where it all began: CRIMINAL, VOL. 1: COWARD—a new take on noir that turned the heist story on its head and created a whole new underworld for BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS to explore.
BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS’ recent series FATALE and The FADE OUT have brought their work to a wider audience of new readers, and now is the perfect time to show them the work that made the award-winning team’s reputation!
“Brubaker and Phillips’ books have always been about eight years ahead of their time.” —Brian K. Vaughan
2. Hickman And Bodenheim Are “The Dying And The Dead”
We covered this yesterday, so I’ll be brief: Jonathan Hickman and Ryan Bodenheim are amazing creators and amazing collaborators. “Secret” and “Red Mass For Mars” are simply fantastic books and I cannot wait for whatever this is. Indiana Jones for old people? Hell yes, I will take three. And at 64 pages of Hickman and Bodenheim goodness for $4.50, that is a great sounding first issue. What a way to start off the New Year.
Continued belowTHE DYING AND THE DEAD #1
story: JONATHAN HICKMAN
art / cover: RYAN BODENHEIMJANUARY 28 / 64 PAGES / FC / T+ / $4.50
“TODAY, TOMORROW, THE GRAVE”
A murder at a wedding reveals a fifty year-old secret. At great cost, a man with a dying wife is given the opportunity to save her. A lost tribe is reborn in another time. Seemingly disparate events that force relics from the Greatest Generation to come together for one last hurrah.Brought to you by award-winning writer JONATHAN HICKMAN and fan-favorite artist RYAN BODENHEIM, THE DYING AND THE DEAD is high adventure meets end-of-life care.
It’s Indiana Jones for Old People. There are no fedoras, only bedpans.
1. “Casanova” Returns!
Hey! Looks like we were right, after all. After three consecutive months soliciting new hardcovers of the three current volumes of “Casanova”, a new, fourth volume of “Casanova” is coming in January! Continuing Matt Fraction’s epic streak and bringing back artistic powerhouses Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá as well as a back-up story by Michael Chabon and Gabriel Bá, this series is going to be a hell of a trip. If you’re not a “Casanova” fan now, you have three months and three hardcovers to get ready for January.
CASANOVA: ACEDIA #1
story: MATT FRACTION & MICHAEL CHABON
art / cover: FÁBIO MOON & GABRIEL BÁJANUARY 7 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99
Marooned in Los Angeles with no memory of his past, Casanova Quinn takes on the mystery of his criminal benefactor’s tangled and bloody history—as strange occult forces from the future conspire to… do stuff? To him? To Los Angeles? To you? YES.
Featuring the first in a series of backup stories by Pulitzer Prize winner MICHAEL CHABON and CASANOVA co-creator GABRIEL BÁ.
For Image’s full solicitations for the month of January 2015, please visit their website
