Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Drew Ford, it's alive, joe r. lansdale, jok, keith lansdale, sam glanzman

It's Alive to Publish First New Series, Red Range: Pirates of Fireworld by Keith Lansdale

Published Thu, 03 Jan 2019 16:14:10 -0600

Last updated Thu, 03 Jan 2019 16:42:47 -0600

It's Alive!, the former IDW imprint turned standalone independent publisher founded and run by Drew Ford will publish its first new comic books series in 2019, Red Range: Pirates of Fireworld. Keith Lansdale, son of Red Range writer Joe R. Lansdale, will write the new series, which will hit Kickstarter soon. Artist Jok, who colored Sam Glanzman's art on It's Alive!'s reprinting of the original graphic novel, will be the artist on the new series. The Red Range reprint was the first title Kickstarted after Ford founded It's Alive! in 2016, garnering over $19,000 in pledges.

A press release from It's Alive! provides further details:

It's Alive! is proud to announce that Keith Lansdale, the writer who recently brought you X-Files and Creepy stories, will unleash his imagination on the historical and somewhat Steampunk world his father (Joe R. Lansdale) created in the original Red Range graphic novel! Launching in 2019, Red Range: Pirates of Fireworld will be the first new Red Range story in almost two decades! And the first new comic book series from It's Alive!

The original Red Range graphic novel was set sometime after the Civil War, when groups like the KKK were gaining popularity in the American South. After having his family destroyed by the Klan, an African American man named Caleb Range donned a mask and sought his revenge, becoming The Red Mask! Along the way, he met a young boy named Turon, who's family suffered a similar fate to his own. Together, the two struggled to survive, while being pursued by the KKK. Then, while trying to escape, they fell through a hole to some deeper layer of the Earth, finding relics from different time periods in Earth's history, and a sky of fire! A few dinosaurs showed up, and things were really staring to get weird, when the story abruptly ended, with a promise of "Pirates of Fireworld coming soon!".

This new tale picks up right where the first one left off! Caleb Range (AKA The Red Mask), and his young companion Turon, find themselves under the surface of the Earth, in a world that seems to be lost in time. They are quickly confronted by a group of Steampunk-ish pirates in hot pursuit of a strange fellow who can only speak one name over and over again…Seetoc! You'll have to pick up the comic to find out what happens next!

These new Red Range comics will be launching with a beautiful standard cover by regular series artist Jok, along with a group of stunning variant covers by an international collection of artists including N. Steven Harris, Andrew Pepoy, Christopher Schenck, Russell Mark Olson, Ramón Pérez, and Aleksandar Bozic. Please note: one variant will only be available via the Kickstarter campaign, and one variant will only be available via comic book shops.

With quotes from Lansdale:

It's been a wonderful opportunity to continue the epic tale of my father's character, Red Range in the newest addition, Red Range: Pirates Of Fireworld. A big thanks to Drew Ford at It's Alive! I'm excited to see the series continue as we steer this dinosaur infested, steampunk-powered ship into the future."

And Jok:

After having had the chance and honor to color Mr. Glanzman's artwork for the original GN, I'm now super-thrilled at the prospect to keep telling this awesome tale, and revisiting these characters and world. What could be cooler than Hollow-Earth Pirates, Dino-riders, prehistoric landscapes, and cowboys mounting pterodactyls? Hope readers have as much fun as I am! Red Range adventures are back big time!

And Ford:

Renowned novelist and comic book writer Joe R. Lansdale created Red Range with comic book legend Sam Glanzman nearly two decades ago, so both Joe and myself are incredibly excited to see his son take over the scripting on this next generation of Red Range comics. We are also really lucky to be working with a talent such as Jok (who's work Glanzman really enjoyed), as he takes over the art chores on this new story!

Those wishing to secure "Super Early Bird Specials" for the upcoming Kickstarter are encouraged to email redrangecomics@gmail.com.