Tag Archives: ales kot

Gunslinger Spawn Hyped as “Biggest New Character Launch in 30 Years”

The NEW and HIGHLY anticipated Gunslinger Spawn series hits comic store shelves this October as part of Todd McFarlane’s ongoing expansion of the Spawn Universe. Much to the excitement of old and new Spawn fans alike, the title is expected to shatter even more comic book records, like the recent King Spawn #1, which sold over a half-million copies. This will be the third number one release that will climb into the #1 spot for orders in less than five months.

Early indications suggest this will be the single biggest monthly comic book launch for a new character in well over 30 years, which includes any superhero publisher, including Marvel and DC Comics.

The new comic title features Gunslinger Spawn, a man out of time who is unwillingly thrust 200 years into the future to the 21st Century. Not only does he have to navigate a new world, but he’ll have to deal with the demons of his past. No one is safe from his vengeance as he heads into battle with guns blazing as he tries to find his way back home.

Acclaimed artist Brett Booth will be the featured artist on this book, with additional art by Philip Tan, Kevin Keane, and Thomas Nachlik, with colors by FCO, Andrew Dalhouse, and others. Gunslinger Spawn #1 will feature covers by a roster of superstar artists: Greg Capullo, John Romita Jr., TonTon Revolver, Booth, McFarlane, and The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman! McFarlane will take the lead on writing the regular ongoing story, and he and Aleš Kot tackle the back-up tales.

Gunslinger Spawn #1 cover G adds another level of excitement to this new ongoing series. With pencils by Booth and inks by McFarlane, this cover, along with both the King Spawn #1 and The Scorched #1 (releasing in December 2021), interconnects to form one epic work of art.

Gunslinger Spawn #1 includes a 1:250 retailer incentive cover for retailers who order 250 copies. McFarlane will hand-sign and create a unique sequential number for each issue just like he did for the record-breaking King Spawn #1 (based on the Final Order Cutoff total). Each signed Gunslinger Spawn #1 1:250 includes a CGC Certificate of Authenticity that retailers can send in and redeem through CGC to have their books graded. This is the only time McFarlane will sign the Gunslinger Spawn#1 1:250 incentive copy issue.  

Additionally, a Gunslinger Spawn #1 1:50 incentive variant cover by Capullo will be offered to retailers who order 50 copies.

For every 250 Gunslinger Spawn #1 issues ordered, retailers will become eligible to order five incentive covers of Gunslinger Spawn #1 by Capullo and one Gunslinger Spawn #1 McFarlane incentive cover.  

The Spawn character was first introduced in 1992, to a record-setting of 1.7 million copies that still stands today as the highest-selling, creator-owned comic issue of all time. Published by Image Comics (the third largest comic publisher in North America), the Spawn character also set a record as the longest-running, creator-owned comic on the planet when issue #301 was published in 2019. In August 2021, the newest Spawn Universe title King Spawn #1 sales numbers demolished The Avengers’ record and became a 25-year record-breaking new superhero monthly title launch. 

Gunslinger Spawn #1 will be available at comic book shops (48 pages, full color, rated: Teen+, $5.99, premium 10 pt cover stock) and on digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play on Wednesday, October 20:

  • Cover A by Booth – Diamond Code AUG210013
  • Cover B by McFarlane – Diamond Code AUG210014
  • Cover C by John Romita Jr. – Diamond Code JUL219298
  • Cover D by Greg Capullo – Diamond Code JUL219299
  • Cover E by Robert Kirkman – Diamond Code JUL219300
  • Cover F by TonTon Revolver – Diamond Code JUL219301
  • Cover G by Booth (Connecting Cover) – Diamond Code JUL219302
  • Cover H 1:50 copy incentive by Capullo (Raw Pencils) – Diamond Code JUL219303
  • Cover I 1:250 copy signed incentive by McFarlane – Diamond Code JUL219304

Todd McFarlane Announces Four New Titles Building His Own Shared Comic Universe

Image Comics‘ President Todd McFarlane has announced his attempt at creating his own multi-character, interconnected comic book universe. His stated goal is to establish a shared fictional universe over time in the vein of what the other comic industry giants, Marvel, and DC Comics, have accomplished with their comic book universes.

The announcement was given by McFarlane during a first look presentation at the Direct Market Retailers at the Annual ComicsPRO Conference.

The character Spawn, created by McFarlane, will be at the forefront of the initial launch of new titles, but the long-term goal is that Spawn will become but one of many characters that will succeed not only in the comics industry but in many mediums across the globe.

McFarlane will capitalize on the twenty-eight-year success story of Spawn, which has seen sales increase between 150 to 600% from pre-pandemic orders. The Spawn title currently is a top 5 monthly selling title on the Diamond Distributors Top 100 Chart. Recently, a new release of a Spawn figure on Kickstarter set a new Kickstarter record, in its category, for raising just under $3.5 million in 30 days. That figure was also recently awarded the prestigious People’s Choice 2021 Toy of The Year (TOTY) by The Toy Association, Inc.

As part of his announcement, McFarlane announced four new titles coming out in 2021, with three of them continuing as regular monthly titles, meaning that there will be an opportunity for fans of the Spawn character and his new expanding world to get their stories from it on a weekly basis instead of just twelve times a year.

In June, in what McFarlane is calling “2021 the year of Spawn,” comic retailers will be able to order Spawn’s Universe #1. This will be a book that will set the stage with a story that will then spill out into the other new monthly titles. The first title will release in August with a book called King Spawn #1. The character Spawn will now join the rare company of stalwart characters, like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, that will have multiple monthly books for the same title character. It will also mark the first time in twenty-eight years that anyone can buy a monthly issue #1 Spawn book. It gives McFarlane hope of reaching a new generation of readers that missed out on the initial launch of the Spawn back in 1992.

In October comes the second new monthly called Gunslinger Spawn. This title character has been a huge hit among the fanbase over the past year, and each of his appearances has garnered enthusiasm at the stores and online.

Finally, there will be a new #1 team book, which will band five characters together to fight against forces too big for any of them to take on alone. That book is titled The Scorched. Spawn, Redeemer, Gunslinger, Medieval Spawn, and She-Spawn begins the group’s adventures. However, McFarlane promises a rotating cast of heroes over the coming months to keep the roster of heroes fresh. He also said that he would be bringing in new major villains into the fold, too.

To lend a creative hand on some of this expanding list of titles, McFarlane has recruited an all-star list of comic book creators such as Art Adams, Jason Shawn Alexander, Carlo Barberi, Brett Booth, J. Scott Campbell, Greg Capullo, Donny Cates, Jim Cheung, Mike del Mundo, Javier Fernandez, David Finch, Jonathan Glapion, Kevin Keane, Aleš Kot, Puppeteer Lee, Sean Lewis, Sean Gordon Murphy, Ben Oliver, Stephen Segovia, Paulo Siqueira, Marc Silvestri, Marcio Takara, and Frank Quitely, as well as others he will be announcing in the coming months.

Lost Soldiers Delivers Gritty Military Action this July

Bestselling writer/co-creator Aleš Kot, artist Luca Casalanguida, and Heather Moore team up for a gritty, all-new military action story in Lost Soldiers. The five-issue miniseries will launch from Image Comics this July. 

Set during both Vietnam in 1969, and Juarez, forty years later, Lost Soldiers follows three men tied by the war they left behind—and on a collision course with a new one.

Lost Soldiers #1 (Diamond Code JUN200021) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 29.

Lost Soldiers

Preview: Bloodborne Vol. 4 The Veil Torn Asunder TP

Bloodborne Vol. 4 The Veil Torn Asunder TP

Author(s): Ales Kot
Artist(s): Piotr Kowalski
Cover Artist(s): Jeff Stokely

A new story set in the world of Bloodborne, FromSoftware and SIE’s award-winning gothic gaming hit! A new wanderer arrives in Yharnam, desperate for the city’s famed medical wisdom… but as the Great Ones wake and reality itself begins to crumble, can he save his own sanity from the relentless truth? The acclaimed horror-mystery comic from writer Ales Kot (Zero, Days of Hate, Wolf) and artist Piotr Kowalski (Wolfenstein, Sex). Collects Bloodborne #13-16.

Bloodborne Vol. 4 The Veil Torn Asunder TP

Preview: Bloodborne #16

Bloodborne #16

Author(s): Aleš Kot
Artist(s): Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson
Cover Artist(s): Connor Magill (A), Yoshioka (B), Game Art (C)

The Veil, Torn Asunder (4 of 4)! Darkness falls and madness reigns, as the Great Ones awake at last! Acclaimed horror-mystery team Ales Kot and Piotr Kowalski unearth the bloody climax of this latest story, set in the world of FromSoftware and SIE’s smash hit video game – Bloodborne!

Bloodborne #16

Preview: Bloodborne #15

Bloodborne #15

Author(s): Aleš Kot
Artist(s): Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson
Cover Artist(s): Abigail Harding (A), Yoshioka (B), Game Art (C)
Retail Price: $3.99
Ship Date/Month: September 18, 2019

The Veil, Torn Asunder (3 of 4)! Stranded in blood-slick streets, our lone wanderer must navigate the crumbling city of Yharnam, and the broken roads of his own mind. Ales Kot and Piotr Kowalski delve deeper into the world of smash hit video game Bloodborne, in this critically acclaimed horror-mystery comic!

Bloodborne #15

Preview: Bloodborne #12

BLOODBORNE #12

Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Cover A: Damien Worm
Cover B: Yoshioka
Cover C: Game Variant
Publisher: Titan Comics
FC, 32pp, $3.99, On sale: May 15, 2019

A Song of Crows (4 of 4)! The maddening conclusion to Eileen’s story! What awaits the Hunter of Hunters in the latest arc of the official Bloodborne comic, from acclaimed creative team Ales Kot and Piotr Kowalski? Explore the world of Sony Interactive Entertainment and FromSoftware’s horror-action gaming smash hit!

BLOODBORNE #12

Preview: Bloodborne: The Healing Thirst

BLOODBORNE: THE HEALING THIRST

Writer: Ales Kot
Illustrator: Piotr Kowalski
Publisher: Titan Comics
Softcover, 112pp, $16.99, £13.99
On sale: April 30 2019
ISBN: 9781785869532

Uncover the horrors of the Healing Church as we return to Yharnam for a second volume of Titan’s sell-out comic series based on Fromsoftware/Hidetaka Miyazaki’s critically-acclaimed Bloodborne videogame.

As the first Hunters slice the night in the search of the afflicted, The Healing Church faces a rupture in its ranks as it struggles to halt the spread of the mysterious Ashen Blood disease. Suspecting Old Blood as the cause, Priest Clement strikes a pact with the older healer Alfredius to uncover the true nature of the Healing Church and expose it to the citizens of Yharnam.

BLOODBORNE: THE HEALING THIRST

Preview: Bloodborne #10

BLOODBORNE #10

Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Cover A: Kyle Charles
Cover B: Game Variant
Cover C: Character Concept Variant
Publisher: Titan Comics
FC, 32pp, $3.99, On sale: March 20, 2019

Writer Ales Kot and artist Piotr Kowalski, continue to explore the world of Sony and FromSoftware’s gothic gaming hit, Bloodborne! The blood-soaked, tragic origin story of fan-favorite character Eileen the Crow, revealed for the first time in A Song of Crows!

Preview: Bloodborne #9

BLOODBORNE #9

Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Cover A: Jeff Stokely
Cover B: Ivan Shavrin
Cover C: Game Art
Publisher: Titan Comics
FC, 32pp, $3.99, On sale: February 20, 2019

Return to the critically-acclaimed horror mystery series set in the world of Sony and FromSoftware’s gothic gaming hit, Bloodborne! Writer Ales Kot delves deeper into Yharnam with artist Piotr Kowalski! The tragic origins of fan-favorite character Eileen the Crow, revealed for the first time! A serial killer stalks Yharnam, drunk on blood – to end their madness, Eileen must become a Hunter of Hunters!

BLOODBORNE #9
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