Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Armored, Chris Stevens, chrissie zullo, clover press, dan ackroyd, Ferran Delgado, Ismael Hernandez, jae lee, Jeff Dickson, kickstarter, Matthew Therrien, Michael Schwartz, nick pitarra, r. l. stein, Scott Kolins

Dan Ackroyd & R. L. Stine Talk Up Michael Schwartz's Armored #1

Movie writer Michael Schwartz is making his comicwriting debut with Armored, about an orphan who stumbles across a haunted suit of armour.

Movie writer Michael Schwartz is making his comic book writing debut with Armored, a spooky, supernatural comic book series about an orphan who stumbles across a mystical suit of armor haunted by the ghost who wore it centuries ago. Armored is drawn by Ismael Hernandez, lettered by Ferran Delgado, and edited by Chris Stevens. The five-issue comic book series features covers by artists Jae Lee, Nick Pitarra, Chrissie Zullo, Scott Kolins, Matthew Therrien, and Jeff Dickson. The project is being crowdfunded on Kickstarter by Clover Press and will be launching imminently.

"A few years ago, my entire comic book collection was stolen," said Schwartz, who also wrote the screenplay for Gnome Alone and the upcoming R.L. Stine's Zombie Town, starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. "After that I started to re-collect and revisit the thousands of books I loved — from silver age classics to modern era epics — and realized the potential comic books offered me for telling this ambitious and personal tale. Working with Clover has been a real pleasure as they truly understood the scope of the story and how Ismael Hernandez and I wanted this narrative to unfold for the reader."

Meet orphaned teen Andy, whose parents mysteriously vanished years before he was adopted at the outset of our story. When Andy starts at a new school out in the countryside, he accidentally discovers a haunted suit of armor and its ghostly keeper, Sir William. When Andy is attacked by the same mysterious creature that killed his adoptive parents' biological son, Sir William and the suit help Andy defeat the monster — but the monster was conjured by someone, and they'll stop at nothing to gain control of the armor.

Sir William must train Andy to use the armor properly — not just to defeat the other creatures being summoned by the mysterious antagonist, but also to defeat an even more dangerous other-worldly being prophesied to return to Earth and take the suit of armor for its own kind. As he faces off against more and more horrifying monsters, Andy will need to learn to look within himself to find the strength to overcome his own demons in order to save the Earth. But this mystery may be bigger than just Andy and his suit…

"One of the more exciting aspects of publishing is finding and breaking new talent," said Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz (because that's where the co-creator of Youngblood is now). "Michael is an accomplished screenplay writer, and this is his comic book debut. Chris has assembled a talented team of artists to bring this to visual life, and Michael brings all the thrills and chills of a great horror read.You can tell he loves the periodical art form, and this story doesn't disappoint."

Oh and he has got some friends of his to hit the hype machine.

"Michael Schwartz writes a fear-packed, suspenseful, youthful adventure with a twist that entices us to continue reading more to come."—Dan Aykroyd

"A fun read and a great new twist on old-fashioned horror. I have only one question: What happens next?" —R. L. Stine

"A lively and unique amalgam of teen horror and pulp fantasy adventure that's filled with atmosphere, humor, terror and high-stakes heroism!  Classic 'boys life' adventure via that sort of SHAZAM-meets-GHOST RIDER comic vibe, with Gothic horror and of course the badass angle of heroic phantasmagorical knights and high-stakes derring-do!"—Chris Alexander, Writer/Filmmaker/EIC/Composer (Delirium Magazine, Cormon/Poe, Queen of Blood)

"Stunning. This is Young Indiana Jones by way of the Hanuka Brothers. The Books of Magic but spec'd Fighter Class. The exact feeling you had as a kid when you picked up a stick in the woods as though it were Excalibur."—Matt Johnson, Actor/Filmmaker (Blackberry, The Dirties, Nirvana the Band the Show)

"ARMORED is really fun. Thoughtfully pitched for that contemporary context of loss so many are feeling, and renewed sense of wonder we are dedicating ourselves to — a tale for times when there is no choice but to believe that more is possible, as long as we don't fall backward into the abyss of the days when superstition determined our moves. A fresh enactment of classic narratives — being able to touch the source of legends always ensures the next outpouring will be pure, though the deftness ARMORED shows in doing this is rare. I like the naturalism yet well-timed wit of the dialogue, and the art is really special — nuanced and dimensional, lived-in yet spontaneous-seeming, and able to carry crucial levels of the narrative on its own."—Adam McGovern, Nightworld

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