Announced today, it looks like Dynamite Entertainment has two brand new books hitting stores this September.
First up, we have the previously teased “The Mocking Dead” from Fred Van Lente and Max Dunbar. It’s a tongue-in-cheek look at the popular zombie story, and seems like one part “Walking Dead” and one part Van Lente’s typical sense of humor that we’ve seen in books like “Incredible Hercules.” He even mentions that the book has “laughs and gore in equal measure” in the press release, which is assuredly a good sign.
As a side note, the press release for “the Mocking Dead” seems like the first time an emoticon has been placed in a press release, although that seems very much perfect for this type of book.
Second, we have “Kings Watch” from Jeff Parker and Marc Laming featuring Flash Gordon, the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician in an “earth-crushing event.” There’s actually a particularly good interview about this book over at Comics Alliance in which Parker illuminates a lot about the book, from his logo design to the use of these characters and his history with them, and is worth reading.
For the full press releases from Dynamite, please see below.
Dynamite Press Release
The Mocking Dead
From the New York Times bestselling writer of the Marvel Zombies series comes a gut-splitting (then eating) comedy! From acclaimed Marvel Zombies writer Fred Van Lente comes The Mocking Dead! The Mocking Dead is a tongue-in-cheek look at the wildly popular zombie genre, with amazing interior art from Max Dunbar, colored in a unique black, white, and red pattern. Featuring an incredible and unique design Zombie Caution cover by Bill Tortolini as well as a Subscription only cover from Max Dunbar himself, he Mocking Dead is available in comic book stores and digitally this coming September!
In THE MOCKING DEAD #1, a small outbreak can turn into a worldwide apocalypse… but only through a long string of screw-ups. Once actual zombies begin popping up in our world, a lone intelligence analyst realizes real-life events are beginning to mimic the events of a long-lost, Grade-Z, drive-in horror flick. As he races to save humanity with this knowledge, he quickly learns the only thing more dangerous than ravenous walking corpses is the ineptitude of the living!
“If you want to see a different take on zombies and how it would really play out in our world, definitely pick up THE MOCKING DEAD,” says writer Fred Van Lente. “It’s got laughs and gore in equal measure.”
“We sat down, we pitched Fred our idea, he liked it and came back with his voice. I cannot wait for fans to read this. It’s going to be a fun ride! A fun ride with lots of bites, death, and everything that comes in a zombie story ;-)” – States Dynamite CEO/Publisher Nick Barrucci
“The zombie genre has quite obviously exploded and it’s been asking for something like this for a long time,” says Senior Editor Joseph Rybandt. “Once we decided to “send it up”, we talked to our one and only writing choice and Fred was able to make it work. Along the way, it became its own thing, still doing what we intended, but growing in complexity due to Fred’s immense talent and Max’s incredible world-building. It’s gonna be a whole lotta bloody fun…”
Kings Watch
Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician team-up in the upcoming Dynamite series, Kings Watch! Written by superstar writer, Jeff Parker, and drawn by artist Marc Laming, and a cover by Laming as well as a Subscription-Only cover by Eisner Award winning artist, Ramón Pérez (A Tale of Sand). Kings Watch is available in comic book stores and digitally this coming September!
In KINGS WATCH #1, panic spreads across the world. Strange phenomena fills the skies. Millions have nightmares of wild lands filled with horrible creatures… then wake to find the monsters are real. What are three men willing to sacrifice to save us all? Superstar writer Jeff Parker (Dark Avengers, Red She-Hulk) and artist Marc Laming (Planet of the Apes) deliver the earth-crushing event of 2013, featuring Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician like you’ve never seen them!
Continued below“As a kid I saved a healthy stack of comics pages from the newspaper to follow The Phantom’s jungle adventures, and copied drawings of the great Sy Barry from those,” states Kings Watch writer Jeff Parker. “The other iconic creation of Lee Falk, Mandrake was intriguing too, but I mostly had an idea of him from some brief radio theatre episodes on an album. Later I was lucky to find some of the Nostalgia Press reprints of his stories. I was also (and still am) really into Flash Gordon. I loved the Filmation cartoon so don’t be surprised if you see elements of that here. It was also one of the first movie serials I saw thanks to our PBS station showing them- how perfect was Buster Crabbe as Flash? I of course went to the De Laurentiis movie multiple times, and got any comic book with him. Then when Kitchen Sink Press put out Alex Raymond’s original newspaper strips, I finally got the whole lush epic. Mandrake, Phantom and Flash are really where it all begins for super action heroes, they influenced so much of what we read and watch today. Marc and I are having the best time reintroducing the pulp adventure trinity for today’s readers, and bringing them together in one thriller which hasn’t happened in years. I can’t wait for new readers and longtime fans to read this.”
“I remember the summer of 1976 for three reasons; the long summer that year when it was so hot that the pavement melted, the USA’s Bicentennial celebrations that even reached our shores in the UK and the first time I saw the Flash Gordon movie serials on morning TV during the school vacation,” adds artist Marc Laming. “We were pretty adventure & Sci-Fi starved in the UK in the mid-70’s and those serials were like being hit by lightning and my 8 year old mind was blown. Around a year later a cartoon on TV (I have no idea of the title) that featured the King Features characters introduced me to The Phantom who was super cool like Batman and Mandrake who was a better dressed Dr. Strange and not nearly as scary! When the show finished I ran straight out to the newsagents to find out more.”
“I’ve wanted to work with Jeff (Parker) for years, and Kings Watch is a fantastic first project together. We’ve wanted to place together a cross-over with King Features most iconic characters for years, but needed to ensure we brought the fans the right writer. Jeff is that writer. And Marc Laming compliments Jeff’s script incredibly, as you will be able to see in the pages attached. This is a series that waited for the right team to bring this story together, and definitely worth the wait,” states Dynamite Publisher Nick Barrucci.
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