In the days leading up to WonderCon, we’re getting more teasers from what to expect at the Bay Area Comic Con, entering its 25th year. From the Skybound camp, run by the seemingly ubiquitous Robert Kirkman, we have a new title called Witch Doctor. Touted as “House meets Horror,” one cannot help but be at least a little intrigued by it.
Read the full press release behind the cut, and look for coverage from WonderCon this weekend!
Witch Doctor, the first original comic published by Robert Kirkman’s Image Comics’ SKYBOUND imprint, will debut 29 June 2011. A preview edition will be featured at this weekend’s WonderCon 2011 in San Francisco.
Witch Doctor is a medical horror comic from Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner, a pair of Alaskans currently based in Portland, Oregon. The book is described as Sherlock Holmes meets Fringe, and features Dr. Vincent Morrow, “a physician who fights outbreaks of the supernatural, trying to find a vaccine for the apocalypse,” according to writer Brandon Seifert.
“We were inspired to create Witch Doctor because it seemed like one of those ideas that was just lying there, waiting for someone to come along and do it justice,” said Seifert. “Vampires, zombies, werewolves – the best monsters are all diseases, so it only makes sense for a doctor to fight them… A Dr. Gregory House-type jerk doctor, diagnosing monsters instead of diseases? It seemed like something that needed to exist.”
”Witch Doctor is a perfect example of the material we’re looking to cultivate with SKYBOUND,” says Robert Kirkman, citing the comic’s unique vision of a “sick world” where mythical creatures interfere with the natural order. Kirkman himself found the creators of Witch Doctor online, and will continue to play a personal role in the ongoing search for a constant stream of new talent to sign under the SKYBOUND umbrella. SKYBOUND will focus on cutting-edge, creator-owned stories that are outside of the normal spectrum of mass-market genres.
“I can’t express how privileged I feel to have the book released by Skybound… no wait, I can. It’s awesomeballs,” said Witch Doctor artist Lukas Ketner. “We are getting an opportunity to collaborate with one of the best writers in the business and smell the sweet downy air under his wing.”
Image Comics, the publishing company that has published Kirkman’s original works (including the New York Times bestselling series The Walking Dead and Invincible), will provide publishing and distribution support to SKYBOUND. Kirkman will continue his duties as Partner at Image Comics, and use the SKYBOUND imprint to release his own titles as well as every Skybound Original to follow.
