The flagship issue of the new Joe’s Comics line, Ten Grand #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Ben Templesmith, sold out the same week as its release, Image Comics has announced that it will go back to press for a second printing that will be in stores on June 5.

A supernatural romance crossed with hardboiled crime, Ten Grand tells the story of Joe Fitzgerald, a mob enforcer who has sworn to go straight — only to be left for dead during his final hit, an incident that leaves his fiancée dead. Joe gets a second chance when an angelic being revives him to be a hitman for mysterious, spiritual forces, with the reward being that he gets to spend five minutes with his beloved Laura every time he’s killed in his new “job.”

You can read our review of Ten Grand #1 here.

The June 5 second printing of Ten Grand #1 can be pre-ordered now with the Diamond Comics code MAR138353.

Ten Grand #1

Joe Fitzgerald was a mob enforcer until the day he met Laura, who convinced him to leave that world behind. Before quitting, Joe agreed to one last job, little realizing that the man he’d been sent to kill was deeply involved in demonlogy. He survived Joe’s attempt and came after him, fatally wounding Joe and killing Laura. As he lay dying, an angelic force (who may or may not be what she appears) pointed out that where she is going, he can’t follow, and where he is going, he wouldn’t want her to follow. But if he will agree to work for them as a different kind of enforcer, they will bring him to life and keep on bringing him to life every time he is killed in a righteous cause. The reward: for those five minutes of death, he will be with Laura again. Would you endure an eternity of pain and death, dying over and over, to be with the woman you love for just five minutes each time you died? Most people might say no. But Joe Fitzgerald isn’t most people.

Ten Grand #1 marks the return of Joe’s Comics, the imprint by J. Michael Straczynski (who pens this series) and this first series’ tone and look, it’s as if time hasn’t passed. This first issue does what few comics today do, it gives pretty much the full background as to what’s going on in the first issue. It’s laid out for the readers, who the characters are, what the major crux is, etc. We might not know the specifics as far as how, but we know what’s going on, and that’s something I really liked. In fact, I realized how much I missed it after reading the issue.

On top of a solid start storyline, we get the awesome art of Ben Templesmith, an artist who I put up there as one of my favorites. His style fits the horror background of the comic.

The story might not be totally original, but the fact it flies in the face of today’s decompressed stories won it points in my book. Further that there’s some great writing, some of the verbal exchanges are solid, and fantastic art makes it an easy suggestion that folks should be picking this one up.

Story: J. Michael Straczynski Art: Ben Templesmith
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy

Jupiter’s Legacy #1

Writer Mark Millar has been a bit over the top lately with some of his series, filling them with uber-violence or reprehensible acts. This series comes off as almost adult for him and it’s more than welcome.

Jupiter’s Legacy intends to be the next superhero epic that all future comics will be measured by. The world’s greatest heroes have grown old and their legacy is a poisonous one to the children who will never live up to their remarkable parents.

Yes, it’s a new deconstruction of the super hero genre, and it would be just that if not for a few pages that really piqued my interest.

What I thought was really interesting was a debate late in the comic of that legacy group of heroes about their role in the world. If the series goes in that direction and ties in this newer generation, there’s some really interesting material to mine and the series will stand out to me.

The first issue though is a solid one, but unlike the above, not much is laid out, it’s very much set-up. We generally know how the heroes got their powers and the world they live in, but the series is very character focused in the issue, so not a ton happens action wise. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just different from a lot of the super hero series out there. There’s a lot I enjoyed about that.

Of course, it’s not just Millar’s writing, Frank Quitely provides the art, which is as solid as you’d expect. It’s great stuff to look at, with characters looking different and each having their own style.

Overall, the issue is really good. I’m not going to gush over it as much as others have, but it’s a solid start.

Story: Mark Millar Art: Frank Quitely
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review

Ten Grand #1

Story by: J. Michael Straczynski
Art By: Ben Templesmith
Cover By: Ben Templesmith
Variant Cover by: Bill Sienkiewicz

Joe Fitzgerald was a mob enforcer until the day he met Laura, who convinced him to leave that world behind. Before quitting, Joe agreed to one last job, little realizing that the man he’d been sent to kill was deeply involved in demonlogy. He survived Joe’s attempt and came after him, fatally wounding Joe and killing Laura. As he lay dying, an angelic force (who may or may not be what she appears) pointed out that where she is going, he can’t follow, and where he is going, he wouldn’t want her to follow. But if he will agree to work for them as a different kind of enforcer, they will bring him to life and keep on bringing him to life every time he is killed in a righteous cause. The reward: for those five minutes of death, he will be with Laura again. Would you endure an eternity of pain and death, dying over and over, to be with the woman you love for just five minutes each time you died? Most people might say no. But Joe Fitzgerald isn’t most people.

A bold new era begins with the long-anticipated return of Joe’s Comics, the imprint that brought you MIDNIGHT NATION and RISING STARS. All-new stories from J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI (Babylon 5, Jeremiah, Thor, Amazing Spider-Man, Superman: Earth One) return in 2013 with an action packed line up featuring everything from superhero action to supernatural thrillers. Watch this space as a new wave of exciting, challenging and experimental stories begins!

The End Times of Bram & Ben #4 (of 4)

Story by: James Asmus & Jim Festante
Art By: Rem Broo
Cover By: Ben Templesmith
Price: $2.99

MINISERIES CONCLUSION
After last issue’s shocking ending — Ben is left alone to face the Antichrists! Did we mean for that to be plural? Will Ben die before having sex with Laura, the Gym teacher? Why does God let bad things happen to good people??? FIND OUT IN THIS FINAL ISSUE!

This past weekend, April 20 and 21 saw the inaugural convention for Awesome Con DC! The convention took place at the Washington, DC Convention Center and saw continuous crowds. The upstart convention brought in celebrities like Ernie Hudson, Nicholas Brendon and comic creators like Justin Jordan, Ben Templesmith, Larry Hama and more.

While small, the show was eclectic with panels on everything from comic books to wrestling. It was clear promoters wanted to see what would stick and prove popular, a smart tactic for a first show. The convention center is massive and the convention took up only a small part of it, at times making it seem small, but that also allowed for a lot of room for folks to hang out and chat.

Chatting to vendors and creators, all seemed happy with the first time convention,  saying it was a constant stream of people. I saw a diverse crowd of young and old, men and women and numerous races, something great to see at a convention.

The $15 tickets made it a cheap way to entertain oneself and check out an convention which I’m expecting to get bigger and popular really soon.

It’s about time Washington, DC had its own geek convention and Awesome Con DC is here to fill that need!

Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce that Cassie, the star of Tim Seeley‘s most famous creation, Hack/Slash, will be crossing-over with Ash from the Army of Darkness, in a new series written by Hack/Slash creator Tim Seeley! Featuring covers by Tim Seeley himself, his Hack/Slash co-creator Stefano Casello, the acclaimed Ben Templesmith, and a special cover by Chris Eliopolis, Army of Darkness Vs. Hack/Slash #1 is not to be missed when it arrives in-stores and digitally this July 2013!

In Army of Darkness Vs. Hack/Slash #1, after the events of the Hack/Slash series, Cassie Hack is doing her best to live a normal life when a Deadite attack forces Cassie back into action. But she’s not alone! Meet Cassie’s new partner: Ashley J. Williams! Can the pair keep from killing each other long enough to quest for the stolen pages from the Book of the Dead?  Will Ash get some sugar? Or will Cassie make him kiss it?  It’s the horror mash-up that fans demanded!

There’s less than a month left until Awesome Con DC which takes place April 20 and 21 in Washington, DC and they’re not done with the announcements. Last week the convention announced Buffy‘s Nicholas Brendon will be coming to the first year convention.

Nicholas Brendon is best known to audiences as the sardonic Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role he played for the seven-year run of the show. He’s currently recurring as FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch on the hit CBS series Criminal Minds, was recently featured in a four-episode arc on the ABC drama Private Practice, and also starred in the Fox comedy Kitchen Confidential.

This is just one of the recent announcements which also includes The Walking Dead‘s Theodus Crane, Wolverine co-creator Herb Trimpe and 30 Days of Night co-creator Ben Templesmith.

The convention line-up is impressive including Phil LaMarr, Ernie Hudson and comic creators including Larry Hama, John Ostrander, Justin Jordan, S.L. Gallant, Jeff Shultz, Jeremy Whitley and many more.

Joe’s Comics is back! The imprint that created Midnight Nation and Rising Stars, is officially underway with the first of what will be an entire line of new, original titles.

Ten Grand, the first title to come out from Joe’s Comics, will be published by Image Comics and officially debut May 1st, with a convention variant to be unveiled at C2E2 in Chicago the week before.

The premise: Joe Fitzgerald was a mob enforcer until the day he met Laura, who convinced him to leave that world behind. Before quitting, Joe agrees to one last job, little realizing that the man he’s been sent to kill was deeply involved in demonlogy. He survives Joe’s attempt and comes after him, fatally wounding Joe and killing Laura. As he lies dying, an angelic force promises that if Joel agrees to work for them as a different kind of enforcer, they will bring him to life and keep on bringing him to life every time he is killed in a righteous cause. The reward: for those five minutes of death, he will be with Laura again. Would you endure an eternity of pain and death, dying over and over, to be with the woman you love for just five minutes each time you died? Most people might say no. But Joe Fitzgerald isn’t most people.

Image has said the return of Joe’s Comics has been in the works for several years, awaiting the right time to go forth. Creator J. Michael Straczynski said he “really wanted to wait until (he) had a collection of stories that (he) absolutely had to tell, that, like Midnight Nation, wouldn’t let me go until they were told. Stories that could be dark, funny, deeply personal but also played out on a large stage in terms of action. As those started to show up over the last few years – often in the middle of the night, which is why Joe’s Comics bears the slugline ‘where it’s always five minute to midnight’ – (he) began to pull them together until I felt I had what I needed, and made the deal with Image to move forward.”

The art on Ten Grand (interiors and covers) is being provided by Ben Templesmith, the New York Times best-selling Australian comic artist and writer most widely known for co-creating 30 Days of Night with Steve Niles and Fell with Warren Ellis.

Issues #1 and #2 will also feature variant covers by Bill Sienkiewicz as well as Phantom variants. Like the other Joe’s Comics titles, Ten Grand will run in twelve-issue installments, with two to three months in between each installment to make any corrections and get ahead on finished books.

In keeping with the innovation and experimentation that has been the hallmark of Joe’s Comics, readers will find a QR code in the back of the first issue that will lead them directly to an audio performance of the book’s dialogue by some of the top voice actors in the business, including Babylon 5 alumnus Robin Atkin Downes, Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt.

Sidekick, the second title to be launched from Joe’s Comics, will debut at SDCC with a convention variant. This will be followed in the fall by Alone and Protectors, Inc.

The 2012 CBLDF Liberty Annual, an anthology featuring top comics creators that benefits the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, is receiving a second printing — with two new covers!

The first is “Lady Liberty” by Ben Templesmith, a painting of a young woman wearing the Statue of Liberty’s iconic crown. The second is a new Image Comics 20th anniversary tribute cover by Chris Giarrusso — this time to Jim Valentino’s creation Shadowhawk.

All proceeds from the CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL 2012 benefit the important First Amendment legal work of the CBLDF, a non-profit group dedicated to protecting the free speech of the comics community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers.

The anthology is 48 pages, featuring stories with the theme “It’s Good to Be Free,” edited by Image Publisher Eric Stephenson. It will be in stores on December 19.

Below is the complete list of creative teams made up of some of the comic book industry’s best and brightest (Writer and Artist; one name indicates creator both writes and draws the story):

Howard Chaykin and Sina Grace
Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard
Chris Roberson and Roger Langridge
Jonathan Hickman
Terry Moore
Richard Starkings and Ian Churchill
David Hine and Doug Braithwaite
Joe Keatinge and Chynna Clugston-Flores
Kieron Gillen and Nate Belllegarde
Brandon Graham
Chris Giarrusso
James Asmus and Takeshi Miyazawa
James Robinson and J. Bone
Jim McCann and Janet Lee
Andy Diggle and Ben Templesmith

IDW Limited has announced a deluxe limited-edition treatment of Monocyte from art visionary menton3 and writer/artist/entrepreneur Kasra Ghanbari. The book is now available for pre-order on the IDW Limited website. The special edition includes hand-drawn artwork from the book’s artist and co-creator menton3, as well as several other gallery artists, including George Pratt, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Ben Templesmith.

The Monocyte Deluxe Limited Edition book is being offered in both Red Label and Black Label editions from IDW Limited, and for the first time, Black Label buyers have the opportunity to choose which artist they’d like to own original art from. Black Label editions are limited to 30 copies by menton3 and 5 copies each by Pratt, Sienkiewicz, and Templesmith. All Black Label editions will be housed in a handcrafted black cloth tray case and include a hardcover original art portfolio.  Artwork techniques by each master range from watercolor to mixed media.

Created by menton3 and Kasra Ghanbari, drawn by menton3, and co-written/edited by Kasra, Monocyte is a cerebral, frightening, and beautiful story about old gods battling in a future wasteland. An incredible scope of gallery artists and comic talent contributed to this series, which include Ashley Wood, Phil Hale, Bill Sienkiewicz, David Stoupakis, Ben Templesmith, George Pratt, Steve Niles, Barron Storey, Riley Rossmo, and Christopher Mitten.

The Red Label edition of Monocyte is limited to 150 copies, each presented with a special black cloth slipcase and hand-signed by both menton3 and Kasra. George Pratt, Ben Templesmith, and Bill Sienkiewicz have all provided original pieces and signatures for their individual Black Label editions, all of which are also signed by the book’s co-creators, Kasra and menton3.

Monocyte Deluxe limited Edition is now available for pre-order at www.idwlimited.com.

Monocyte DELUXE LIMITED EDITION (RED-$125.00/BLACK-$495.00; 224 pages; 9” x 13”; hardcover) is now available for pre-order.