Posted in: Comics | Tagged: 2013, Comics, image, january

Seven Image Issue Ones For January

Published Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:00:32 -0500

There's something about a new issue one from Image Comics. It could simply be anything. While a new book from Marvel or DC is likely to feature existing characters, Image have been the most successful instigators of something brand new, week after week after week.

And in January, there are seven of them. Kind of. Ish. Let's have a look.

Dias De Las Muertas #1 (of 3) by Alex Link, Christopher Long, Dirk Manning and Riley Rossma, 40 pages for $4.99 in Image's Golden Age format… so with bigger pages then.

Inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead, artist extraordinaire, RILEY ROSSMO (DEBRIS, GREEN WAKE, COWBOY NINJA VIKING, REBEL BLOOD) joins forces with nine different writers over three issues to tell tall tales from beyond the grave!

This issue's writers are ALEX LINK (REBEL BLOOD), CHRISTOPHER LONG (X-Men Unlimited, Hiding In Time, Easy Way) and DIRK MANNING (NIGHTMARE WORLD, Write or Wrong). Future issues will feature stories by ED BRISSON (COMEBACK), ALEX GRECIAN (PROOF), JOE KEATINGE (HELL YEAH), JEFF MARRIOTTE (FADE TO BLACK), KURTIS WIEBE (PETER PANZERFAUST) and JOSHUA WILLIAMSON (XENOHOLICS).

In this issue: A mariachi falls in love with a woman who strongly resembles his lost love, a father is abused by a poltergeist, and a girl who's mother died when she was born visits the land of the dead in her dreams.

Then there's The End Times Of Bran And Ben #1 (of 4) by James Asmus, Jim Festante and Rem Broo. 40 pages for $2.99, announced at NYCC.

What would you do if you were caught in the Biblical End Times? When Heaven raptures total bastard Bram Carlson in a "clerical error" – he's sent back and immediately uses Armageddon to his benefit! Can his anxious roommate Ben save Bram from himself – AND the gathering forces of Armageddon?
Extra-long debut issue! This apocalyptic buddy-comedy from writers JAMES ASMUS (THIEF OF THIEVES, Gambit) and JIM FESTANTE is recommended for fans of CHEW and BATTLE POPE.

Then we have Repossessed #1 (of 4), completely by JM Ringuet, $2.99 for 32 pages. And in no way anything to do with a certain Leslie Nielsen film from the nineties. Honest.

In a world where Demon possessions are commonplace it's up to a crew of overworked blue-collar repo guys to repossess the victims with old grimoires and big guns. The Dee Agency is hired by a rich NYC banker to repossess his daughter Sarah who ran away to Vegas. But the job is tougher than they expected and Demons of all sorts start popping up on the trail.

Then there's Todd The Ugliest Kid Of Earth #1 (of 4) by Ken Kristensen and M K Perker, 32 pages for $2.99. Which has a rather Holed Up feel to it, don't you think? Either way I know I'll be giving a copy to Todd Allen.

This series, a collision of comedy, sex, and violence, follows the misadventures of America's most dysfunctional family as they go head-to-severed head with an Oprah-loving ax murderer, a cult-crazy soap opera star, and a neo-Nazi prison gang.

First issue: Todd wants desperately to make friends, but every kid he approaches winds up decapitated. Or worse. Meanwhile, Todd's mother is on a mission to get even with her husband who she believes is having an affair.

And then One Trick Tip Off: Deep Cuts which is mostly new from Paul Pope, 288 pages of it for $30. Most of which are unseen, from the nineties.

Young lovers Tubby and Vim want to escape – escape the mistakes they've made, the lives they've lived, and the dirty city weighing them down. Their plan is simple –all they have to do is rip-off Tubby's pals, the One Tricks – the toughest street gang in LA. If they pull it off, they're set for life. If not, their lives won't matter much anyway.

Included in the "Deep Cuts" section is a bounty of unpublished and rare work POPE did in the '90s, including the legendary "Supertrouble" manga, created for Kodansha in Japan, appearing here in print for the first time.

Then there's the Think Tank spinoff, Think Tank Military Dossier #1 by Matt HAwkins and Rahsan Ekedal, 32 pages for $2.99, black and whit.

Get an exclusive behind the scenes look into the process of the hottest new title from Minotaur Press! Hack into the classified personnel files of slacker genius Dr. David Loren and all the other characters you know and love from behind the concrete barricades of a DARPA contracted Think Tank! School yourself on the extended "Science Class" that further explores the real world science behind the Reaper drones, guided bullets, and much, much more never-before-seen tech! Cheaper than tuition to Cal Tech, it's like breaking into a black box, but more fun.

And a final one shot, Tom Judge: The Geometry Of Hell by Phil Smith and Kalman Andrasovsky, 32 pages for $3.99

Rapture bearer Tom Judge is trapped in Hell. The only problem? He's forgotten where he is. It will be up to Tom's partner and numeromacer Tilly Grimes to save Tom from Hell. Perfect for the casual reader and the devoted fan of the Top Cow universe, this standalone one-shot reveals the never before told story of how Tom Judge first acquired his doomed burden to keep the universe in balance.

So… what takes your fancy from Image in January?

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