DARK HORSE DECEMBER 2009 RELEASES

Dark Horse has released their solicits for December 2009


BEASTS OF BURDEN #4 (of 4)

Evan Dorkin (W) and Jill Thompson (A)

On sale Dec 16
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Miniseries

When a four-legged friend is found disoriented and traumatized, Pugs, Red, Ace, and Whitey call in the troops to investigate. Something has gone awry at the local cemetery, and it’s up to a gang of cats and dogs to unravel the paranormal mysteries of Burden Hill.

This issue marks the conclusion of Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s Beasts of Burden, a four-issue arc chronicling the adventures of these heroic characters first introduced in the anthologies The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings and the other Dark Horse Book of . . . volumes, for which they won coveted Eisner Awards for Best Short Story and Best Painter.


BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY ARCHIVES VOLUME 2

Dick Wood (W), Leo Dorfman (W), Paul S. Newman (W), Joe Certa (A), Ray Bailey (A), Alex Toth (A), Mike Sekowsky (A), and others

On sale Feb 3
FC, 240 pages
$49.99
HC, 6 5/8" x 10 3/16"

Spirits of a Ouija board possess a dutiful housewife . . . A pleading ghost haunts a father for his refusal to forgive . . . An army major’s dead body carries a deceptive message to Nazis in World War II . . . A phantom ship seeks a new captain . . . A possessed armored hand defends a castle from a hostile takeover . . .

These stories and many, many more are collected in Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives Volume 2! These are tales of suspense, crime, intrigue, horror, and irony hosted by the renowned actor Boris Karloff and featuring art from some of the finest comics storytellers from the sixties. Contains issues #5–#10 of Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery.

• Features a new introduction by Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner!


B.P.R.D.: WAR ON FROGS #4 (of 4)

John Arcudi (W), Peter Snejbjerg (A), Bjarne Hansen (C), and Mike Mignola (Cover)

On sale Dec 9
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Miniseries

Johann Kraus, the ectoplasmic man, leads a team of B.P.R.D. agents against the frog monsters as they spread across the country. But this time, burning the nest of frogs is not the end of the battle for Johann, as he learns about the horrifying afterlife of the Bureau’s sworn enemies.

Peter Snejbjerg (Starman, The Books of Magic) tackles the final issue in the B.P.R.D.: War on Frogs series with series writer John Arcudi.


BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SUPERNATURAL DEFENSE KIT

On sale Feb 17
9.72" x 8.2" x 1.25"
$24.95

Back by popular demand! Die-hard Buffy fans just kept asking for this long-out-of-print book and keepsake package. Well, it is returning from the grave.

This slipcased package combines a great Buffy adventure with a dazzling trio of specially crafted items that are featured in the story. The book is a deluxe hardcover, about 80 percent of comic-book size, thread sewn, utilizing a fine matte art paper stock. The story is an expansion of “The Final Cut,” part of which originally appeared in Buffy #8. New pages have been added by the creative team.

Actual elements from the story have been created, and are visible through die-cut windows in the slipcase: Buffy’s trademark gold-colored cross, the traditional “Claddagh” ring, and a glass vial of holy water with silver flakes suspended in the fluid.

Defend yourself in style or provide the special someone in your life with a unique gift.


BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: WILLOW

Joss Whedon (W), Karl Moline (P/Cover), Andy Owens (I), Michelle Madsen (C), and Jo Chen (Cover)

On sale Dec 23
FC, 40 pages
$3.50
One-Shot

Willow Rosenberg has worn many faces—a shy computer geek, a loyal friend, a passionate lover, a fierce Wiccan, and a dark Willow.

Now in Season Eight of the critically acclaimed, award-winning Buffy comics series, Willow’s powers have grown exponentially. She can fly. Teleport. And may or may not be immortal.

All we know is that Willow went on a walkabout following the demise of Sunnydale, and she met a very sultry, extremely powerful serpent lady who seems to be the key to unraveling the mysteries of what Willow is, and will become.

Joss Whedon and his Fray co-creator Karl Moline reunite for this special one-shot!

Joss Whedon returns!


CITIZEN REX #6 (of 6)

Mario Hernandez (W) and Gilbert Hernandez (W/A)

On sale Dec 9
b&w, 24 pages
$3.50
Miniseries

After the explosive finish to the Blanc Masque gala, Sergio awakes to find himself . . . on a TV talk show? Secrets come out and dirty laundry is aired when Citizen Rex grants his final interview in “As the Nights Bite, So the Days Bite Back.”

Everything comes back to the very beginning, with the answers behind the mysterious “block” and Sergio’s attack in this startling conclusion to Mario and Gilbert Hernandez’s sexy sci-fi epic!

The mind-bending finale!

“I tried to give it the feel of a strange late-night foreign movie you’re too drunk to remember clearly the next day.” —Mario Hernandez


CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #17: FREE COMPANIONS part 2 (of 3)

Timothy Truman (W/P), Tomás Giorello (P), José Villarrubia (C), and Joseph Michael Linsner (Cover)

On sale Dec 23
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Ongoing

In part two of the three-issue Free Companions arc, Conan rebels against Princess Yasmela, his former lover, and seeks to infiltrate the dungeons of Koth with a small band of handpicked mercenaries. Taking place right after Robert E. Howard’s “Black Colossus” tale and setting up events that will lead directly into Dark Horse’s next Howard adaptation, Free Companions finds Conan launching an impulsive precision mission to free Yasmela’s captured brother, the true leader of Khoraja, who is a prisoner in Koth—a rescue operation that’s either inspired and necessary or extremely foolhardy! Will betrayal lead Conan into a rage-filled suicide mission?

“Tim Truman…gets right to the heart of the character to what makes him tick. In addition, Tomás Giorello’s artwork absolutely nails Conan…The colors by José Villarrubia give an added weight of emotion and realism to the story.”
—mania.com


CONAN THE CIMMERIAN: THE WEIGHT OF THE CROWN

Darick Robertson (W/A) and Tony Avina (C)

On sale Dec 16
FC, 40 pages
$3.50
One-Shot

Living legend Darick Robertson (The Boys, Transmetropolitan, Wolverine) focuses his powerful storytelling talents on Conan—his favorite barbarian hero! In this “adult fable” that Robertson writes AND draws, Conan travels away from Cimmeria to search for a mercenary job that will bring him the fierce joy of battle and the spoils of war. Intrigued by a leader known as the “Mad King of Gaul,” Conan joins a band of brutes who are defending the Aquilonian border from incursions and who enjoy living in a lush valley that the Mad King claims for his own. These warriors soon believe that Conan may be a more fitting successor to their leader than the supposed king’s own son—setting Conan on a potentially disastrous course!

Taking place between the Cimmeria and Black Colossus story arcs in the Conan the Cimmerian monthly series, this issue is perfect for both longtime readers and for intrigued fans looking for a dynamic one-shot punch from the visceral and cerebral Darick Robertson.


CREEPY ARCHIVES VOLUME 6

Various (W/A)

On sale Feb 24
b&w, 240 pages
$49.99
HC, 8 3/8" x 10 7/8"

Dark Horse Comics continues to showcase its dedication to publishing the greatest comics of all time with the release of the sixth spooky volume of our Creepy magazine archives. This collection of legendary yell yarns includes selections from revered writers Archie Goodwin and Harlan Ellison, among others, and groundbreaking artistic contributions from Frank Frazetta, Neal Adams, Angelo Torres, Jack Davis, underground comics great Vaughn Bodé, and more.

Treat yourself to this fright-filled tomb, and you’ll see why these gore-geous collections have become freaky fixtures on the New York Times bestseller list!

• Creepy Archives won the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection!

• Creepy Archives includes bonus color pages.


EMPOWERED

Adam Warren (W/A)

On sale Dec 2
b&w, 32 pages
$3.99
One-Shot

Even as costumed crime fighter Empowered fights a desperate battle against a functionally invulnerable, grave-robbing supervillain inside a secret underground mausoleum for fallen superheroes, back at Emp’s apartment, the alien demonlord imprisoned upon her coffee table spins a tempestuous tell-all tale of the often-struggling heroine’s deepest secrets . . . The scruple-free storyteller soon reveals how all of Empowered’s many frustrations at work, at home, and even in the bedroom can be conveyed strictly through the vocabulary of her extraordinarily expressive exhalations, thus making her . . . “The wench with a Million Sighs!”

Adam Warren—writer/artist of the English-language Dirty Pair comics and warped mastermind behind the popular Empowered graphic-novel series—brings you the first Empowered tale told in conventional comics format!

First Empowered story in traditional comic-book format.




GELASKINS

On sale Dec 16

13" Laptop
$29.95

15" Laptop
$29.95

iPhone
$14.95

Over the years, Dark Horse has been committed to incorporating art into our everyday lives through prints, T-shirts, mugs, and a variety of other items that help make this world more colorful. Now Dark Horse is proud to collaborate with GelaSkins to bring over twenty new designs to their line of protective skins for laptops and phones.

Featuring designs from Hellboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Goon, The Umbrella Academy, and more, the new line of GelaSkins is the perfect way to protect your technology while showing off your signature style.











GUNSMITH CATS: BURST VOLUME 5

Kenichi Sonoda (W/A)

On sale Feb 24
b&w, 216 pages
$12.99
TPB, 5 1/8" x 7 1/4"

This could be it, folks! Our favorite cutie-pie tough teen bounty hunter could be hanging up her guns after this tightly packed volume of Gunsmith Cats: Burst! And when we say tightly packed, we mean the return of all the characters who were missing in volume four, including Bean Bandit and Minnie-May! Storylines will converge and wrap up! Girls might actually make out! It’s a crash-boom-bam race to the finish, and who knows how it will all wash out. Join us as we wrap up this fantastic last volume of Gunsmith Cats: Burst in frantic fashion.

• Each volume of Gunsmith Cats: Burst comes shrink-wrapped and carries an 18+ content advisory.


HELLBOY: THE BRIDE OF HELL

Mike Mignola (W/Cover), Richard Corben (A), and Dave Stewart (C)

On sale Dec 23
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
One-Shot

A year after their Eisner-nominated collaboration Hellboy: The Crooked Man, horror comics legends Corben and Mignola reunite!

A nineteen-year-old girl is kidnapped and Hellboy tracks her down to a remote clearing in France where she’s about to be given to Asmodeus, in a strange tale of ghosts, demonic revenge, lost love, and King Solomon.


JET SCOTT VOLUME 1

Sheldon Stark (W) and Jerry Robinson (A)

On sale Feb 10
FC, 216 pages
$34.99
HC, 12" x 9"

In the 1950s, when the world was faced with strange or anomalous threats, there was one man who was called on to set the situation right—Jet Scott of the Office of Scientifact! Whether it was tracking down deadly Banthrax germs, uncovering the source of strange ocean creatures, or discovering the cause of spontaneously combusting pipelines in Saudi Arabia, Jet Scott was the adventurer who could get to the truth!

• Jerry Robinson is one of the best known of all the artists who have drawn Batman over the years and is often credited with creating the Joker, one of comics’ greatest villains!

• Dark Horse Comics is proud to collect the Jet Scott comic strips, for the first time ever, which were originally published from 1953 to 1955 by the New York Herald Tribune!


LITTLE LULU: THE BIG DIPPER CLUB AND OTHER STORIES

John Stanley (W/A) and Irving Tripp (A)

On sale Feb 24
FC, 200 pages
$14.99
TPB, 6" x 9"

Generations have been enchanted by the adventures of Lulu Moppet and her friends, and the stories contained in this latest collection are no exception. Unparalleled comics funnymen John Stanley and Irving Tripp created a deceptively simple framework in Little Lulu, but one that opened up innumerable possibilities for hilarity, and the pair never stopped coming up with new twists to delight children and elicit knowing laughter from their parents.

• The Big Dipper Club is the latest in Dark Horse’s new series collecting Little Lulu in all its full-color glory, making Lulu even more fun than ever!


MARTIANS GO HOME #1 (of 6)

Martin Powell (W), Mike Manley (A), and Bret Blevins (Cover)

On sale Dec 2
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries

Martians have invaded Earth!

That’s right, real Martians. Seriously. Suddenly, without warning, one billion Little Green Men are everywhere. The Martians are on your street and in your house, all of them knowing your deepest and darkest secrets. Untouchable as ghosts and obnoxious as hell, their sinister agenda remains a mystery. Perhaps their plan is simply to drive the entire human race insane, for that is exactly what they’re doing.

From flop house to the White House, no one is above, or below, the torment of the alien invaders. All is lost. Or is it? Only our unlikely hero, Luke Devereaux, a burnt-out science-fiction writer with nothing left to lose, knows how to defeat the Martians . . . but he has already lost his mind!

Sequential Pulp Comics presents writer Martin Powell, with artists Mike Manley and Bret Blevins, joining forces to adapt Fredric Brown’s classic 1950s “paranoia” sci-fi novel into a spectacular six-issue limited series.

You won’t think of alien contact in the same way ever again!


OH MY GODDESS! VOLUME 14

Kosuke Fujishima (W/A)

On sale Feb 24
b&w, 192 pages
$10.99
TPB, 5 1/8" x 7 1/4"

Ever since a cosmic phone call brought the literal young goddess Belldandy into college student Keiichi’s residence, his personal life has been turned upside down, sideways, and sometimes even into strange dimensions!

Get a job! That's what you hope a college education can do for you—but when Keiichi applies to put his knowledge to work in a custom-bike shop, he finds it's not going to be as easy to graduate college as he thought! And it could be that no one's leaving Nekomi Tech ever again, when it falls under the mind-bending influence of two of the most sinister forces known to man—Mara's magic, and Sayoko's ego!

• This volume includes a message from creator Kosuke Fujishima, and your fan art and letters!

• Winner of the 2009 Kodansha Award for Best General Manga

• Oh My Goddess! is the longest-running manga series in America!


PREDATOR #4

John Arcudi (W), Javier Saltares (A), Wes Dzioba (C), and Raymond Swanland (Cover)

On sale Dec 23
FC, 40 pages
$3.50
Miniseries

Think that a third-world civil war is messy? How about an off-world civil war? Caught in the middle of a blood feud between rival Predator clans in an east African war zone, private military contractor Thorpe barely makes it back to base with his hide intact after a pitched firefight with a squad of extraterrestrial marauders. But clean sheets and hot chow will provide cold comfort once the alien killers and their lethal technology track Thorpe down, and he has precious little time to marshal the Graham Directive Security crew for a desperate defense. They might have had a chance had they not lost their most potent ally, a lone rival Predator warrior, but now Thorpe and the GDS soldiers are out of options and out of time as they prepare to make their stand—their last stand.

Don’t miss the explosive conclusion to the all-new Predator series. And be on the watch for a special preview of the new Aliens vs. Predator series, launching in January!


REX MUNDI BOOK 6: GATE OF GOD

Arvid Nelson (W) and Juan Ferreyra (A)

On sale Feb 3
FC, 248 pages
$17.99
TPB, 7" x 10"

Doctor Julien Saunière’s quest for the Holy Grail has led him to a wild mountain valley in the remotest corner of France. The power-mad Duke of Lorraine wants him dead, but Julien finds an unlikely ally in Isabelle, the duke’s own daughter.

And no one, not even the duke himself, is aware of the Grail’s ultimate secret. It’s a truth so shocking it will literally cover the earth in blood!

Bittersweet goodbyes, magical duels to the death, and miracles both great and small await you in the final installation of the Rex Mundi epic.


SHAMAN WARRIOR VOLUME 9

Park Joong-Ki (W/A)

On sale Feb 3
b&w, 192 pages
$12.99
TPB, 5 3/4" x 8 1/4"

The final volume in Park Joong-Ki’s lavishly illustrated Shaman Warrior saga brings Yaki face to face with the forces of Kugai, now led by Yuda—the Death Lord who executed her father. Yaki is also reunited with Nejo, a fellow orphan who stole her heart when they were being raised in the brutal Butcher Camps. Fickle fate’s placed Nejo in the middle of a violent misunderstanding, however, and his strength and resolve will be further tested after a horrible accident separates him from Yaki once again. Heartbreak, horror, and hope—amazingly enough, this volume has it all! After she inherits her father’s shaman powers and the beast inside Yaki is unleashed, she fights to avenge her father, protect her endangered, mystical shaman bloodline, and find her place in a war-torn country.

• Visit darkhorse.com for a free extended preview of Shaman Warrior Volume 1—available now!

• One of the best-selling manhwa epics of all time, Shaman Warrior won the Korean Culture & Content Agency’s 2006 Best Manhwa of the Year award!


STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS #11—HERO OF THE CONFEDERACY part 2 (of 3)

Henry Gilroy (W), Steven Melching (W), Brian Koschak (P), Michael E. Wiggam (C), and Russell Chong (Cover)

On sale Dec 16
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Ongoing

Blamed for the death of a member of the royal family of Valahari, Anakin Skywalker is exiled to a remote outpost on Ryloth. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi infiltrates the royal family’s castle searching for the truth—which leads him from an unexpected encounter to a deadly one!

But even finding the truth may come too late to save a noble hero of the Confederacy who has become Republic Enemy Number One!

• This series is a complement to Lucasfilm’s The Clone Wars TV show!


STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS—THE COLOSSUS OF DESTINY

Jeremy Barlow (W) and Matt and Shawn Fillbach (A)

On sale Feb 17
FC, 80 pages
$7.99
TPB, 5 1/4" x 7 1/2"

Jedi Master Mace Windu leads a battle against Separatist forces for control of the planet Simocadia!

While the Confederacy of Independent Systems battles for the planet’s rare fuel source, and the Republic tries to repel the invaders, the rulers of Simocadia choose a different option to save the planet: awakening the Ardana Shadex, an indestructible mechanized giant that has been sleeping for centuries under the planet’s surface! But awakening the colossus could cost many lives and cause more destruction than the current war. Mace Windu races against time and across a dangerous landscape to prevent his onetime friend, Prince Yojan, from causing disaster.

• Star Wars is enjoying a whole new wave of popularity brought on by the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television show, and Dark Horse has a Star Wars graphic novel for fans from every age group!


STAR WARS: DARK TIMES #17—BLUE HARVEST part 5 (of 5)

Mick Harrison (W), Douglas Wheatley (P/Cover), and Chris Chuckry (C)

On sale Dec 9
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Ongoing

Betrayed, beaten, and half drowned, former Jedi Dass Jennir clings to life while the town he vowed to save is torn by gang warfare. His only allies have been imprisoned, tortured, or shot.

It looks like the bad guys might win this time . . . except for one thing: a Jedi never gives up.

Bad-assery on an epic scale!


STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #48—DEMON part 2 (of 4)

John Jackson Miller (W), Brian Ching (P), Michael Atiyeh (C), and Benjamin Carré (Cover)

On sale Dec 23
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Ongoing

Once again a fugitive from justice, former Jedi student Zayne Carrick and his partner Gryph finally find out the truth behind their enemy, the macabre Mandalorian scientist Demagol. Yet they’ve learned it too late to save a friend from deadly peril!

The origin of Demagol revealed!


STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC VOLUME 8—DESTROYER

John Jackson Miller (W), Brian Ching (P), Bong Dazo (P), Ron Chan (P), Benjamin Carré (Cover), and others

On sale Feb 3
FC, 120 pages
$17.99
TPB, 7" x 10"

Knights of the Old Republic: Destroyer begins with an untold chapter from the lives of Malak and Revan—stars of the KotOR video game!

From there, it takes us to a death-defying shootout on the face of a comet and into the heart of one of the cruelest organizations in the galaxy—the Crucible. Former Padawan Zayne Carrick risks not just his life, but also his sanity, to help his friend Jarael face her dark past. Zayne may have set off for adventure, but what he finds are irreversible consequences for himself and his crew in a dangerous, unforgiving galaxy.

• Dark Horse has sold over 75,000 copies of the first four volumes of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic!

• Featuring Malak and Revan from the Knights of the Old Republic video game!


STAR WARS: LEGACY #43—VONGSPAWN

John Ostrander (W), Jan Duursema (P/Cover), Dan Parsons (I), and Brad Anderson (C)

On sale Dec 23
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Ongoing

After their narrow escape from their last piratical endeavor, Cade and the crew of the Mynock aren’t looking for another job. But when the pirate Rav surprises them with an amazing offer, it may be too good to refuse!

Meanwhile, as the Jedi tentatively join the growing alliance against the Sith Empire, Master Wolf Sazen decides it’s time he look again for his wayward former Padawan—Cade Skywalker . . .


USAGI YOJIMBO #125: A TOWN CALLED HELL part 2 (of 2)

Stan Sakai (W/A)

On sale Dec 23
b&w, 24 pages
$3.50
Ongoing

The gang war between Boss Higa and Boss Komo hits a fever pitch as the rabit ronin concludes his visit to “A Town Called Hell”!

Kato is a master swordsman, and one of the deadliest killers Usagi has ever encountered. Fortunately, Kato works for the highest bidder, and Usagi has persuaded him to stay out of the fight, for a price. After Komo’s gang is crushed, Kato goes to Boss Higa for payment, only to find that Usagi has apparently taken all the money and disappeared. Now the determined killer is after that long-eared thief!


VAMPIRE HUNTER D VOLUME 14: DARK ROAD PARTS 1 and 2

Hideyuki Kikuchi (W) and Yoshitaka Amano (A)

On sale Feb 17
B&w, 480 pages
$14.99
Novel, 5 1/8" x 7 1/4"

D has crossed over the southern border, into the domain of the cruelest and most evil of the royalty, General Gaskell. On the way, he picks up a “victim”—one of few survivors in the villages—and makes way with her and the Deliverers. Along the way, he is attacked by the Drowned, and fights many more unspeakably horrible enemies. All of this suggests that Gaskell—who was supposed to have been put to death under the light of the sun—is still very much alive. But why?

• Dark Horse has sold over 300,000 copies of Vampire Hunter D!

• Vampire Hunter D features twelve black-and-white line illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano.