C2E2 2013: Dark Horse Announces Hellboy: The Midnight Circus, Elfquest: The Final Quest, and Powers Figures Line
Steve Barton
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C2E2 is in full swing, and first out of the gate with big announcements is Dark Horse with three new items on the way, including a re-teaming of Mike Mignola and artist Duncan Fegredo for Hellboy: The Midnight Circus.
The 2013 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) began yesterday, April 26th, and runs through Sunday, the 28th, in the West Building at McCormick Place located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois. For more info visit C2E2.com.
From the Dark Horse Press Releases:
HELLBOY: THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS
Following up on a collaboration which spanned multiple series, leading up to Mike Mignola’s return to both writing and drawing his beloved demon, artist Duncan Fegredo returns to tell a story about a young Hellboy’s first brush with hell. In this beautifully drawn fifty-six-page graphic novel, a young Hellboy runs away from the B.P.R.D., only to stumble upon a weird and fantastical circus and the few demons from hell who inhabit it.
“This one owes a lot to Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (pretty much my favorite circus story of all time), but even more to Pinocchio—especially all the spooky, disturbing bits Disney left out. And the work Duncan is doing here is just flat-out amazing,” said Mike Mignola.
“Growing up is tough enough, even when you don’t know the weight of the world rests on the future of your yet-diminutive shoulders. Mike has woven a tale of coming of age for the young Hellboy made all the more poignant for knowing his future. Wonderful, magical, terrifying, this is epic Hellboy on a smaller stage,” Duncan Fegredo added.
Hellboy: The Midnight Circus arrives in a beautiful hardcover format similar to the previously released Hellboy: House of the Living Dead (created in collaboration with legendary artist Richard Corben in 2011). This new tale arrives on shelves on October 23, carrying a retail price of $14.99.
ELFQUEST: THE FINAL QUEST
For generations, the Wolfriders sought a safe haven. Now, in the Palace of the High Ones, they have found it. But with security, the elves lose the skills that made them superb survivors in a harsh world. Elfquest: The Final Quest poses dire questions: Who stays? Who goes back to the forest? And what grim price will the Wolfriders pay?
“Dark Horse is a company I’ve admired ever since it sprang on the scene in the 1980s. Somehow, as large as they’ve grown, they’ve retained an independent spirit that Richard and I totally identify with. The quality of their offerings is legendary, and I’m extremely happy that Elfquest is part of their lineup,” said Elfquest cocreator Wendy Pini.
“Mike Richardson and Dark Horse come from the same publishing DNA as our own company, Warp Graphics, and he retains that gut-deep love of getting comics out into the world. We’re jazzed at all the plans, both traditional and new, they have for Elfquest,” added Elfquest editor and co-creator Richard Pini.
“I’ve known Richard from our very first year and read Elfquest from its inception. I’ve also pursued him and Wendy for nearly as long as Dark Horse has existed. Elfquest has been a lifetime project for Wendy, and it is one of comics’ great epics. I am extremely proud to bring their wonderful book to Dark Horse and particularly excited to see what is in store for us over the next three years,” Dark Horse President Mike Richardson continued.
In celebration of the thirty-fifth anniversary of Wendy and Richard Pini’s cult comics classic, Dark Horse proudly welcomes the Wolfriders, the Sun Folk, the Gliders, the Go-Backs, and the High Ones to its own rich history. The first release will be the prologue to an all-new fantasy epic, Elfquest: The Final Quest, arriving in the fall of 2013. Following that, Dark Horse will release this new story alongside all-new editions of the previously published material from this best-loved series. Look for more details shortly!
POWERS FIGURES LINE
Dark Horse Deluxe, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics, has licensed rights to create figures based on Powers, a long-running creator-owned series of comics and graphic novels by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming. Projects include a limited-edition statue of Retro Girl, a central figure in the first Powers story arc, and a boxed set of vinyl figures of the series’ ongoing principal characters.
Combining the genres of superhero fantasy, crime noir, and police procedural, Powers follows the lives and cases of two homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, assigned to investigate cases involving people with superhuman abilities, who are referred to as “powers.”
“We have been very particular about merchandising Powers over the years because I wanted to make sure it was the highest-quality merchandise we could offer,” said Brian Michael Bendis. “I am a giant fan of Dark Horse and the care they give their merchandising. I am very excited about this partnership.”
“We feel that Powers is one of the best graphic-story treatments of the modern era,” Dark Horse Product Development Vice President David Scroggy remarked. “We are delighted to bring these characters forward. Brian Bendis is a master of story construction and dialogue, making him one of today’s most widely read comics writers, and Michael Oeming’s unique art style is one of the most individual in the field. Capturing their creative vision is a challenge we appreciate, and we couldn’t be more excited to work directly with these two talents in making that happen.”
The Retro Girl statue will be sculpted by Tony Cipriano, who has created many popular superhero-themed collectible statues for a variety of companies. Michael Avon Oeming, working in concert with Bendis and Dark Horse, created special art for the statue, which will be used as control art during sculpting. The statue will capture the stylized nature of the graphic art, while anchoring the figure in realism. “To see your work translated into sculpture is always scary, but I’m very excited to be working with the amazing Tony,” Oeming stated.
Dark Horse also plans a boxed set of four- to-five-inch vinyl figures, which will include protagonists Walker and Pilgrim as centerpieces of the ensemble.
Both projects are slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2013. The prototypes will be shown to the trade and the public for the first time as part of the product display in the Dark Horse booth at San Diego Comic-Con in July. Retail prices and edition sizes are to be determined.
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