COMIC NEWS: IN THE KNOW AT THE IMAGE COMICS SHOW

Image Comics announces exciting new projects at WonderCon 2010


Image Comics took its show on the road -- across the Bay that is -- to make big announcements at its hometown show, WonderCon. On Saturday, THE IMAGE COMICS SHOW presented a slew of ongoing and upcoming projects from Erik Larsen, Frank Cho, Jonathan Ross, men of action Joe Casey and Steve Seagle, and Richard Starkings.

EMPEROR LARSEN
Erik Larsen discussed the upcoming story arc for SAVAGE DRAGON, entitled EMPEROR DRAGON. Following the events of the DRAGON WAR, Savage Dragon remains his evil self, Emperor Kurr. Without the opposition to stop him, the ex-cop, ex-superhero makes a play to conquer the planet.

Also announced: SAVAGE DRAGON FUNNIES, a 12-issue series of backup stories that starts with May's SAVAGE DRAGON #160. A select and talented group of artists contributed short tales representing their take on the Dragonverse. Creators include Michel Fiffe, Andrew Dimitt, Kiel West, Delsante and Freire, Ulises Farinas, Chris Sanderson, Conoro Hughes, Kat Roberts, Hyendo Park, Pedro Camargo, Jason Thibodeaux, and Joe Keatinge and Deep 6 Studio.

FIFTY ON CHO
Frank Cho reported on 50 GIRLS 50, an all-new miniseries masterminded by Cho and co-writer Doug Murray (THE 'NAM). Newcomer Alex Medellin, the winner of a talent search curated by Cho and Murray, is illustrating based on designs by Cho. The series will be launching in August.

DOWNE WITH CASEY
Joe Casey announced his new one-shot, created with Chris Burnham: OFFICER DOWNE. A lone Badass With A Badge takes on the scourge of the criminal underworld, and this is one cop that'll keep coming back for more...even from beyond the grave! OFFICER DOWNE will be available in July.

ON A CRUSADE WITH SEAGLE
Steve Seagle announced the collection of THE CRUSADES, his incredible tale of an enigmatic 11th century Crusader that renders terrible justice on 21st century San Francisco. This remastered volume collects - for the first time - the macabre Vertigo series created by Seagle and artist Kelley Jones. THE CRUSADES vol. 1, collecting THE CRUSADES: URBAN DECREE and issues #1-9, will be available in July.

Also announced: FRANKIE STEIN, an adorable full-color oversized children's book drawn by Marco Cinello (SOUL KISS). Frankie Stein is just another kid, growing up the way kids do. Except Frankie has green skin, bolts in his neck, and lives in a giant castle. FRANKIE STEIN will be available Fall 2010.

ROSS ON AMERICAN TURF
Jonathan Ross made a rare American appearance and discussed his new five-issue miniseries TURF, which is drawn by Tommy Lee Edwards. Ross discussed the transition from eternally popular UK television host and long-time comics fan to comics creator. Issue #1 is available April 7, but a convention exclusive variant is available at the Image Comics booth, #407.

STARKINGS MAKES A MOVE TO THE SCREEN
Richard Starkings had huge news for the crowd: ELEPHANTMEN has been optioned for a movie! He also discussed ELEPHANTMEN #25, a special issue in which the story is told by a series of guest artists in astonishing splash pages. Artists include Dave Gibbons (WATCHMEN), Tim Sale (BATMAN: LONG HALLOWEEN), Pia Guerra (Y: THE LAST MAN), and more! ELEPHANTMEN #25 will be available later in April.

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of four major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.