Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani have created quite a stir with their work on some of the most fun and ageless comics of all time. They won an Eisner for Tiny Titans, their treatment of DC Comics’ Teen Titans, and their recent Kickstarter campaign for their Aw Yeah Comics series surpassed its goal in record time.

Now, this dynamic duo takes on Dark Horse’s best-known character, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, in an all-new comics series, Itty Bitty Hellboy!

A ghost named Rasputin has been spotted. And Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. are going to find out what’s he up to. Who is Hellboy, anyway? Why does he have such a big hand, and what is it used for? Who’s weirder, he or his friends? What is the B.P.R.D.? And what does chicken soup have to do with all of it? All this and more will be answered in the debut issue, where BIG things happen to Itty Bitty Hellboy!

Itty Bitty Hellboy #1 arrives on shelves at your local comic shop on August 28!

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.

Hellboy: The Midnight Circus arrives in a beautiful hardcover format similar to the previously released Hellboy: House of the Living Dead. This new tale arrives on shelves on October 23, carrying a retail price of $14.99.

While some publishers were making announcements about new series and creative teams at C2E2, Action Lab Entertainment was going a different direction. Instead they’ve announced the reversal of ever rising comic book prices.

The publisher has announced starting with their comics listed in June’s Previews being offered for $2.99 instead of their previous standard of $3.99. The next part is those comics now being a standard 32 pages. The publisher’s NFL Rushzone books will now be available twice monthly with 20 pages for $1.99.

Additionally, beginning with Jamal Igle’s Molly Danger (in the current previews, available in July), Action Lab will be offering a number of 48 page oversized European style hardcovers at $19.99.  This is coming right on the heels of the release of our first preview of Molly Danger alongside their breakout hit Princeless in their Free Comic Book Day release.

Perhaps even more impressive is that this month marks the launch of Action Lab’s new mature readers line Action Lab: Danger Zone.  This launch will be approximately doubling the size of their monthly catalog and will include a variety of books including:  Ehmm Theory (where a dead man and his talking cat are tasked by St. Peter with a number of insane missions – including fighting zombie circus clowns), The Final Plague (an infestation of undead animals), Ghost Town (a tale of time-travel and terrorism), and Night of the 80’s Undead (a mashup of John Hughes type romance and George Romero type horror).

Over the past two years Action Lab Entertainment has made remarkable strides as a small comic book publisher.  The company has gone from it’s first published work to its first Eisner nomination and on to its first major license (announcing an NFL RushZone comic earlier this year).

Dark Horse is becoming “the” place for comic books based on video games. At C2E2, Dark Horse announced a new comic series based on Halo. Halo: Initiation, launches in August! This exciting new miniseries will be written by Halo 4 writer and comics veteran Brian Reed, with art by Marco Castiello!

Before she was a supersoldier defending humanity as part of the Spartan-IV program, Sarah Palmer was an ODST—Orbital Drop Shock Trooper—carrying out the most dangerous missions behind enemy lines! See how she became the first Spartan-IV commander in this must-read series for fans of Halo 4 and the Halo franchise!

This is a bit of a coup as we last saw the Halo comic tie-ins being published by Marvel. A nice pick-up from the indie publisher.

Look for Halo: Initiation #1 on sale in comic shops everywhere on August 14!

At C2E2, Dark Horse announced eisner nominee Alex de Campi headlines a B-movie comic masterpiece in Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight!

With covers by superstar artists Francesco Francavilla, Dan Panosian, and Coop, this series is excessive, gratuitous and tasteless—just like comic fans love it.

Literature: overrated. Morality: expendable. Tonight is right for some over-the-top sex and violence! Bringing the flavor of midnight exploitation flicks to comics, Grindhouse delivers four two-issue gore operas, starting with the Chris Peterson-drawn “Bee Vixens from Mars,” pitting a one-eyed southern Latina deputy against lusty alien chicks bent on laying eggs in the entire male population!

Future arcs include “Prison Ship Anteres,” featuring art from Simon Fraser; “Bride of Blood,” with art by Federica Manfredi; and “Flesh Feast of the Devil Doll,” with art by Gary Erskine!

Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight #1 is on sale October 2 in comic shops everywhere (where it’s not outlawed)!

Archaia is heading to Chicago for this weekend’s C2E2 and will be located at booth #1019! C2E2 is one of the Midwest’s biggest celebrations of comics and pop culture, taking place during the weekend of April 26-28, 2013 in the West Hall of McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. Archaia’s corporate headquarters is based in Chicago.

Creators and contributors scheduled to appear at the Archaia booth include:

Andrew E. C. Gaska (writer: Space: 1999: Aftershock and Awe, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, Critical Millennium: The Dark Frontier, the upcoming Classic Space: 1999)
Andrew Rostan (writer; An Elegy for Amelia Johnson)
Brent Schoonover (artist, Mr. Murder Is Dead)
Chandra Free (writer/artist: The God Machine, Fraggle Rock)
Charles Soule (writer: Strange Attractors)
Cory Godbey (artist: Fraggle Rock, the upcoming Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and Spera Vol. 3)
David Marquez (artist: Syndrome, the upcoming The Joyners in 3D)
David Petersen (writer/artist: Mouse Guard)
Janet Lee (artist: Return of the Dapper Men)
Jeremy Bastian (writer/artist: Cursed Pirate Girl)
Jim McCann (writer: Return of the Dapper Men)
Ramón Pérez (artist: Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand)
R. J. Ryan (writer: Syndrome, the upcoming The Joyners in 3D)
Royden Lepp (writer/artist: The Rust)
Tom Pinchuk (writer: Hybrid Bastards!)
Yehudi Mercado (writer/artist: Pantalones, TX: Don’t Chicken Out)

Check the signing schedule at Archaia.com for your favorite creator’s availability. Here’s what else is going on at the Archaia booth during C2E2 weekend:

• Archaia Entertainment Presents: Comics Storytelling and the Lost Art of 3D, 1:30-2:30pm, Room W471. Join us for an uncensored discussion of the medium’s benefits and drawbacks, as well as a wide-ranging survey of the highs and lows of 60 years of 3D comics, only at C2E2 2013!   They will preview the 2013 release of the ambitious, all-3D graphic novel The Joyners in 3D from Archaia, writer R.J. Ryan (Syndrome), New York Times best-selling illustrator David Marquez (All-New X-Men, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Syndrome), and Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy have invited a panel of creatives from across comics to dig deep into both the highs and lows of using 3D as a storytelling tool. The multimedia presentation will include big-screen glimpses of comics’ most famous—and most forgettable—3D projects, as well as a brief, exclusive sneak peek at Ryan & Marquez’s epic 3D melodrama, The Joyners in 3D. Moderated by Word Balloon podcast host John Siuntres, every panel attendee receives a free pair of 3D glasses and a coupon to receive a copy of the 2012 Free Comic Book Day hardcover at the Archaia booth (while supplies last)!
• Mouse Guard creator David Petersen and Rust creator Royden Lepp are among the guests on the Imaginative Sci-Fi Authors of C2E2 panel! Saturday, 12:45-1:45pm, Room W475B. They will join other science fiction and fantasy authors like E.B. Hudspeth (The Resurrectionist, published by Quirk), Jeffrey Brown (Darth Vader and Son, Top Shelf), Brandon Easton (Roboy, Lion Forge), and Rachel Rawlings (The Maurin Kincaide Series) to talk about their imaginative Sci-Fi and Fantasy graphic novels!
• Meteor Entertainment is bringing the experience of their smash hit, online, free-to-play, giant-mech video game HAWKEN to C2E2 with two play-test kiosks set up at the Archaia booth! Copies of the accompanying graphic novel, HAWKEN: GENESIS, will be on hand for purchase, and each copy comes with a scratch-off card with a code that can be redeemed for 10,000 HAWKEN Credits for use in the game!
• Charles Soule, the new writer of DC’s Swamp Thing, will be on hand to autograph advance copies of his new Archaia graphic novel, Strange Attractors, which is the fascinating sci-fi story of how a professor uses mathematics to help keep New York City from destroying itself! Check for his signing schedule at the booth (#1019) or on Archaia.com.
• Fans who purchase copies of Hopeless, Maine will receive a free, handmade postcard created by authors Tom and Nimue Brown. Quantities are limited!
• Using Foursquare, fans have a chance to win an all-ages prize pack containing copies of: Mouse Guard Vol. 1: Fall 1152; Rust Vol. 1; Pantalones, TX; and Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse. To enter, simply check in to “Archaia Entertainment: Booth #1019” (
  http://4sq.com/12FDU7y
  ) through the Foursquare app on your iOS or Android phone and tweet your check-in using #ArchaiaC2E2. Winners will be contacted to receive their prize. More info:
  http://on.fb.me/12G8IFk
  .
• Using Instagram, fans have a chance to win a Henson/Archaia graphic novel prize pack containing copies of: Fraggle Rock Vol. 1, Fraggle Rock Vol. 2: Tails and Tales, The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 1, and The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 2. To enter, take creative photos of the Archaia booth at C2E2 (#1019), upload it using the Instagram app on your iOS or Android phone, and use the hashtag #ArchaiaC2E2. Archaia will choose the best photo and contact the winner to receive their prize! Photos will be posted on the Archaia Facebook page! More info:
  http://on.fb.me/11idRR2
  .
• Archaia Entertainment will be hosting a Retweet to Win contest through Twitter for fans who can’t make it to C2E2! Retweeting starts Friday, April 26th at 10am CST! This contest will run thru Sunday, April 28th. To enter, you must follow Archaia on Twitter, look for the special “RT to Win” tweet from our account (@Archaia) which will be sent out several times each day throughout C2E2 weekend (April 26-28). Multiple winners will be selected each day. Prizes include copies of: Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse; The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 1; Fraggle Rock Vol. 1; Gunnerkrigg Court Vol. 1; HAWKEN: GENESIS; Mouse Guard Vol. 1: Fall 1152; Pantalones, TX; Return of the Dapper Men; and Rust Vol. 1. More info:
  https://www.facebook.com/events/434507266642329/
  .

Think you’ve gotten all of the surprising Star Wars news you can handle this year? Well brace yourself for more! Diamond Select Toys will offer an exclusive variant of their vinyl Jawa bank at C2E2, the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, this weekend! That’s right, only 250 have been made, and they’re all in Chicago right now!

The variants which costs $22, depicts the 1/4 scale Jawa holding an ion blaster, instead of the regular edition’s restraining bolt caller. As used by the Jawas in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the ionization blaster fires a bolt that disrupted electrical systems, temporarily shutting down droids which they would then claim under Tatooine salvage laws.

Only 250 of this vinyl bank were made, so get to C2E2 ASAP, or find someone who’s already there to pick one up for you!

This week, Marvel heads to C2E2 in Chicago! Marvel will be at booth #1119, along with the hottest creators in the industry, bring fans all that they’ve been craving and more! Over the course of the three day event, Marvel is bringing the fan service with giveaways, signings, and the fan favorite costume contest to make C2E2 an event to remember! Be sure to stop by the Marvel Booth, #1119, for your chance to get in on the fun the entire weekend!

And that’s not all because, we have an all-star cast of your favorite Marvel creators who will be at the booth signing all weekend long! Swing by and visit top Marvel writers including Rick Remender, Mark Waid, Kieron Gillen, Olivier Coipel, Ryan Stegman, Chris Samnee, Brandon Peterson, David Marquez, Brian Wood, Jordie Bellaire, Declan Shalvey, Josh Fialkov, Greg Land along with a host of other Mighty Marvel Guests!

A heartfelt story of friendship and heart-pounding adventure, the Image Comics/Shadowline comic book series, Peter Panzerfaust, has become a hit with multiple sell-outs of issues. The World War II based story is inspired by the classic J.M. Barrie creation Peter Pan. Now the fantastic independent series by writer Kurtis J. Wiebe and artist Tyler Jenkins is set to engross an even larger audience, with Adjacent Productions‘ and Quality Transmedia’s fully animated motion comic adaptation, featuring the voice talents of Elijah Wood, Summer Glau, Ron Perlman, and Dante Basco.

Wood and Glau will voice the characters of Peter and Wendy, while Perlman brings to life Peter’s arch-nemesis, the Nazi officer Kapitan Haken, the series’ incarnation of Captain Hook.  Basco, who played Rufio in the 1991 movie Hook, will return to the Neverland universe as the voice of Alain. The world premiere of a trailer for the motion comic will be shown at a panel at the Chicago entertainment convention C2E2. The session will feature Peter Panzerfaust creators Wiebe and Jenkins and Jeff Krelitz of Quality Transmedia, and takes place on Saturday, April 27 at 3:15 PM CDT.

The motion comic isn’t all Peter Panzerfaust fans have to look forward to.  Adjacent Productions and Quality Transmedia have announced that a live-action series based on the comic is also in development, and in May, Image Comics/Shadowline will release the second trade paperback volume of the series. Peter Panzerfaust: Hooked collects issues #6–10 of the series and features the introduction of Kapitan Haken, as well as the continued adventures of Peter, the Lost Boys, Wendy, and Tiger Lily in their fight against the Nazis as part of the French Resistance. It will be in stores on May 15 and is available to pre-order now. Peter’s adventures will continue in Peter Panzerfaust #11 in July.

Dark Horse Comics is headed to Chicago’s fastest growing pop culture event – Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo! You can join them for signings at booth #801! Free comics and/or prints with each signing while supplies last.

Please note that lines may be capped or tickets issued for any signing as needed. Inquire about your favorite signings as early as possible. Some restrictions apply. All events are subject to change.

Comics, books, and collectibles will be available for purchase from Dark Horse or your favorite retailer.

DARK HORSE SIGNINGS

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

12:00 p.m. AMALA’S BLADE signing with Steve Horton

Free 8” x 10” print featuring art by Michael Dialynas

1:00 p.m. BATTLEPUG and THE ANSWER! signing with Mike Norton

Free copy of The Answer! #1

2:00 p.m. HUSBANDS signing with Jane Espenson and Brad Bell

Free 5.5” x 8.5” print featuring art by Ron Chan

3:00 p.m. THE SHAOLIN COWBOY signing with Geof Darrow

Free 11” x 17” print featuring art by Geof Darrow

5:00 p.m. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SPIKE signing with Jenny Frison

Free copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike #1

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

10:00 a.m. AMALA’S BLADE signing with Steve Horton

Free 8” x 10” print featuring art by Michael Dialynas

11:00 a.m. CRIMINAL MACABRE signing with Steve Niles and Christopher Mitten

Free 5.5” x 8.5” print featuring art by Christopher Mitten

12:00 p.m. BEASTS OF BURDEN and SCARY GODMOTHER signing with Jill Thompson

Free copy of Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch

1:00 p.m. DREAM THIEF signing with Jai Nitz and Greg Smallwood

Free 5.5” x 8.5” print featuring art by Alex Ross

Free limited edition Dream Thief paper in action figures

2:00 p.m. THE MASSIVE, STAR WARS, and CONAN signing with Brian Wood

Free 11” x 17” print featuring art from The Massive by J. P. Leon

3:30 p.m. THE GOON signing with Eric Powell

Free copy of The Goon #38

5:00 p.m. THE FIFTH BEATLE signing with Vivek J. Tiwary

Free 8” x 10” print featuring art by Andrew C. Robinson

Enter to win an exclusive print signed by writer Vivek J. Tiwary and artist Andrew C. Robinson and The Beatles Stereo CD Box Set

SUNDAY, APRIL 28

10:00 a.m. AMALA’S BLADE signing with Steve Horton

Free 8” x 10” print featuring art by Michael Dialynas

11:00 a.m. DARK HORSE SUPERHERO and BRAIN BOY signing with Freddie Williams II

Free 11” x 17” print featuring art by Freddie Williams II, as depicted on the Dark Horse booth superhero mural

12:00 p.m. EX SANGUINE and THE OCCULTIST signing with Tim Seeley

Free copy of Ex Sanguine #1 and The Occultist #1

1:00 p.m. BATTLEPUG and THE ANSWER! signing with Mike Norton

Free copy of The Answer! #1

2:00 p.m. TO BE ANNOUNCED! Come to the Dark Horse Spring Fever Panel on Saturday, April 27, from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. in room W471 to meet two special guests and find out about an exciting new project featuring one of your favorite Dark Horse characters.

DARK HORSE PANELS

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

12:15 p.m.–1:15 p.m. SPOTLIGHT ON BRIAN WOOD, Room W471

3:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m. MUSIC AND POP CULTURE featuring various artists and creators, including Vivek J. Tiwary, writer of the upcoming Dark Horse graphic novel The Fifth Beatle, Room W475b

5:15 p.m.–6:15 p.m. DARK HORSE SPRING FEVER with Scott Allie, Jeremy Atkins, Eric Powell, Tim Seeley, Mike Norton, Steve Horton, and surprise guests! Room W471

7:45 p.m.–8:45 p.m. HUSBANDS: TELEVISION AND BEYOND with Brad Bell, Jane Espenson, Sean Hemeon, and moderator Matthew Aaron, Room W471