Posted in: Comics, Image | Tagged: Ahley Wood, chris ryall, image comics, Syzergy

Image Launch Creator Imprints, Starts With Chris Ryall & Ashley Wood'

Published Thu, 21 Oct 2021 15:19:11 -0500

Back in October 2019, Bleeding Cool reported that Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson was "quietly working with an A-List group of creators to launch the first of a number of official Image Comics imprints. Lines of new content that will be curated by these creators themselves with Stephenson's direct involvement. Current brands Skybound, Top Cow, and Shadowline are often referred to as "imprints", but they all are owned and operated by studios independently from the Image Central office. With these new imprints, we'd see Stephenson working alongside these top writers/artists to explore a variety of new formats and expand Image Comics' influence into new markets. DC Comics has similar with Young Animal, Wonder Comics and now Hill House. Dark Horse has Berger Books and IDW has – or rather had – Black Crown."

Then of course the pandemic and lockdown happened. Some imprints found an early way to express themselves on Substack before going to Image, like 3W3M and Kids Love Chains. While Scott Snyder took his imprint to ComiXology Originals and Dark Horse instead. And Warren Ellis'… well, we know what happened there. But now we have the first official launch of one of the imprints, adapting a novel by someone who already has an imprint.

A graphic adaptation of Joe Hill's Rain will serve as the debut offering from Syzygy Publishing, Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood's new publishing venture. This first, five issue miniseries will kick off the new line of comics, graphic novels, and art books—from the Zombies vs Robots co-creators—beginning in January 2022. The creative team consisting of writer David M. Booher (Killer Queens), artist Zoe Thorogood (The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott), colorist Chris O'Halloran (Ha Ha), and letterer Shawn Lee (Madman Artist's Select) will come together to bring Joe Hill's Rain to sequential form. Ryall and Wood contribute editorial and logo/production design, respectively. Ryall was most recently President, Publisher and CCO at IDW, part of a career there over almost two decades, with a brief sojourn at Skybound.

Rain first appeared in author Joe Hill's novella collection Strange Weather, and tells the story of a seemingly normal August day in Boulder, Colorado—the skies are clear and Honeysuckle Speck couldn't be happier. She's finally moving in with her girlfriend, Yolanda. But their world is literally torn apart when dark clouds roll in and release a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. Rain makes vivid this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads across the country and around the world, threatening everything young lovers Honeysuckle and Yolanda hold dear. Each issue of Rain will feature a bonus story from Unnamed, an upcoming series by Ryall and Wood following immortal hunters in pursuit of a fanged creature and set during swingin' '60s London. Rain #1 (of 5), a 32-page, $3.99 comic, will be published on the 12th of January, 2022.