Official Press Release

INCLUDES MARC SILVESTRI AT LOCAL SIGNING AND EVENT

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 29, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. is proud to announce today its plans for this weekend’s Free Comic Book Day, Saturday, May 1^st, which takes place in comic shops across North America.  Free Comic Book Day is an annual event where participating direct market stores give out free comics to anyone that walks into their store.

This year’s Top Cow Free Comic Book Day offering is Artifacts #0, by Ron Marz (Witchblade, Magdalena) and Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade, Angelus).  The issue serves as an introduction to the publisher’s maxi-event that’s been over five years in the making.  Building on the success of First Born and Broken Trinity, Top Cow will finally reveal the identity of all 13 Artifacts, which include The Darkness, Witchblade, Angelus, Magdalena’s Spear of Destiny and 9 others.  Launching a massive 13-issue event beginning in July 2010, the series will define and redefine the nature of the Top Cow Universe.  The final identity of the remaining Artifacts will be revealed, characters will perish and the very existence of the Top Cow Universe will be at stake.

As a special treat for LA locals, Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri will be participating in the festivities and serving as the Guest of Honor at Collector’s Paradise in Winnetka, CA.  Joining Silvestri at Collector’s Paradise is the first art team on the Artifacts series, Michael Broussard (The Darkness), who will also be signing at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood, CA.  On the east coast, Marz will be signing Artifacts #0 at two New England Comics locations: Brockton and Harvard Square.

Other Top Cow creators making appearances in the Los Angeles area include Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik, Rick Loverd (Berserker), Rob Levin (Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box, The Darkness: Shadows & Flame), Rahsan Ekedal (The Crazies, Echoes), Nelson Blake II (Pilot Season: Murderer, Magdalena), Sal Regla (Pilot Season: Murderer, Magdalena), Sheldon Mitchell (Pilot Season: Stealth, The Darkness), Joshua Hale Fialkov (Pilot Season: Alibi, Echoes), Rick Basaldua (Pilot Season: Stealth, The Darkness) and Ryan Winn (The Darkness).  Additionally, Tyler Kirkham (Strykeforce, Witchblade Takeru Manga) and Phil Hester (The Darkness) will be appearing in various parts of the United States to celebrate the annual event.

Below are Top Cow’s full event plans for FCBD:

4 Color Fantasies

7172 Archibald Avenue

Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701

(909) 563-8751

Creator: Rick Basaldua

Beach Ball Comics

3024 West Ball Road

Anaheim, CA 92804

(714) 826-6127

Creators:  Nelson Blake II, Sal Regla

Brave New World Comics

22722 Lyons Avenue #6

Santa Clarita, CA 91321

(661) 259-4745

Creators: Sheldon Mitchell

Collector’s Paradise

7131 Winnetka Avenue

Canoga Park, CA 91306

(818) 999-9455

Creators: Marc Silvestri (1-3pm), Michael Broussard (12-3pm), Rick Loverd (12-3pm)

The Comic Bug

1807 ½ Manhattan Beach Blvd

Manhattan Beach, CA

(310) 372-6704

Creators:  Rob Levin, Rahsan Ekedal, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Ryan Winn

Daydream Comics

21 S. Dubuque Street

Iowa City, IA 52240

(319) 354-6632

Creator: Phil Hester

Earth-2 Comics

8967 Reseda Blvd.

Northridge, CA 91324

Creator: Filip Sablik (12-2pm)

Hee Bee Gee Beez

1968 N. Hill Field Road, Suite #2

Layton, UT 84041

(801) 392-5094

Creator:  Tyler Kirkham

Meltdown Comics

7522 Sunset Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90046

(323) 851-7223

Creators: Michael Broussard, Rick Loverd (4-6pm)

New England Comics – Brockton Store

East Crossing Plaza

744 Crescent Street

Brockton, MA 02302

(508) 559-5068

Creator: Ron Marz (10:30am-1:30pm)

New England Comics – Cambridge Store

Harvard Square

14A Eliot Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

(617) 354-5352

Creator: Ron Marz (4-7pm)

For more information on FCBD, please visit www.freecomicbookday.com.

About Top Cow Productions Inc.

Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry’s Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT’s #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow’s other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow’s other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.

ART INCLUDED:  Artifacts #0