The studio behind Twilight and Red has picked up Top Cow‘s Crosshair to be made into a feature film. Summit Entertainment recently received $750 million in financing, which will allow the studio to produce a number of new films, and Crosshair is one of the first projects that Summit has announced.
David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will be producing the film. The were two of the producer’s behind The Fighter. Morgan Foehl is writing the screenplay. Marc Silvestri and Jeff Katz wrote the original comic book.
After settling into the life of loving husband and devoted father in the suburbs, a former assassin for the CIA learns he’s been brainwashed to kill the President of the United States. To his horror, Justin Weller has discovered that in less than 48 hours something or someone will trigger his suppressed program and send him into deadly and irreversible action. Weller must discover his triggering mechanism and uncover who is behind the conspiracy that will pitch the world into chaos.
TOP COW ECHOES ‘WE CREATE’ AT LONG BEACH COMIC CON 2010
LOS ANGELES, Calif., October 28, 2010 – With Halloween weekend upon us, join Top Cow Productions, Inc. in their home city of Los Angeles at the second annual Long Beach Comic Con, October 29-31, at the Long Beach Convention Center.
Meet the Top Cow team and creators at booth #212 for convention exclusives, preview books and free goodies, and celebrate the success of this year’s action-packed event series Artifacts, launch of Echoes and the kick-off of the Pilot Season 2010 voting period with them.
Fans who stop by the booth will be among the first to launch the Pilot Season 2010 voting period. At voting stations, attendees can decide who deserves a series of their own: a group of bank robbers, a femme fatale of the digital age, a former assassin for the CIA, a doctor working at a pharmaceutical company, or an ex-pat who made a del with a demon. Several creators for this year’s Pilot Season will be on-hand to sway your vote.
Among the creators appearing at the Top Cow booth #212 will be Joshua Fialkov (Tumor, Echoes), Rob Levin (Pilot Season: 7 Days From Hell, Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box), William Harms (Impaler), Filip Sablik (Pilot Season: Asset), Jeff Katz (Pilot Season: Crosshair), Rick Loverd (Berserker), Michael Broussard (Artifacts, The Darkness), Sheldon Mitchell (The Darkness), Rahsan Ekedal (Echoes, The Crazies), Rick Basaldua (Artifacts, The Darkness), Randy Queen (Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom of Pain), Sarah Queen (Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom of Pain) and Joe Weems (Artifacts, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia).
Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik is hosting a panel on Saturday, October 30, Top Cow: We Create…Competition, at 3:00-3:45pm in Seaside Ballroom B. Join Sablik and a host of Top Cow creators as he walks attendees through what the Cow has in store for you in 2011, including the next arc in Artifacts and Magdalena, Top Cow mainstays Witchblade and The Darkness, what’s coming out first at Minotaur Press, and more. Panelists include Broussard, Mitchell, Levin, Fialkov, Ekedal and Loverd. All attendees will receive a free gift!
At the Top Cow booth #212, the publisher will have the following new products available for fans: Witchblade #139 Long Beach Comic Con exclusive cover by Randy Queen and Sarah Queen, two Halloween lithographs by the Queens and Stjepan Sejic. Additionally, Top Cow will have several exclusive trade paperback bellyband packages.
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. 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.
SILVESTRI & KATZ ‘PILOT SEASON: CROSSHAIR’ SIGNING AT BRAVE NEW WORLD COMICS
GEEKWEEK LIVE FROM BRAVE NEW WORLD STAGE FOLLOWING SIGNING
LOS ANGELES, Calif., October 15, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that Top Cow CEO and founder Marc Silvestri and American Original’s Jeff Katz will be doing an in-store signing for their spine-tingling espionage thriller Pilot Season: Crosshair at Brave New World Comics on Saturday, October 16 from 4pm to 6pm.
Following the signing at 6pm, Katz will be bringing his traveling road show of geek experts (and a few surprise celebrity guests) to the Brave New World stage and will be broadcasting live via GeekWeek.com.
Pilot Season: Crosshair centers on the life of Justin Weller, a loving husband and devoted father in the suburbs and former assassin for the CIA who’s been brainwashed to kill the President of the United States. To his horror, Weller has discovered that in less than 48 hours something or someone will trigger his suppressed program and send him into deadly and irreversible action. He must discover his triggering mechanism and uncover who is behind the conspiracy that will pitch the world into chaos.
Pilot Season: Crosshair is created and co-written by Silvestri (X-Men/Dark Avengers: Utopia) and co-writer Katz (Booster Gold) with art by Allan Jefferson (War Machine).
Brave New World Comics is located at 22722 Lyons Avenue #6, Newhall, CA 91321.
If you could take the television show 24 mash it with the movie classic The Manchurian Candidate and put it in comic book form, you’d come pretty close to Crosshair #1. Created and co-written by Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri and co-writer Jeff Katz with art by Allan Jefferson the comic is a kinetic and at times confusing look at a man who knows he’s programmed to kill the President in 48 hours and the only person that can stop him is…. himself.
Pilot Season Begins Anew as a 5 Week Event in 2010!
After settling into the life of loving husband and devoted father in the suburbs, a former assassin for the CIA learns he’s been brainwashed to kill the President of the United States. To his horror, Justin Weller has discovered that in less than 48 hours something or someone will trigger his suppressed program and send him into deadly and irreversible action. Weller must discover his triggering mechanism and uncover who is behind the conspiracy that will pitch the world into chaos.
Created and co-written by Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri (X-Men/Dark Avengers: Utopia) and co-writer Jeff Katz (Booster Gold) with art by Allan Jefferson (War Machine), Crosshair introduces a new kind of action comic.
I love the concept, the execution on the other hand is a bit scattered. The story isn’t linear, instead we’re given out of sequence scenes, which would be fine and work on television, but doesn’t quite get pulled off on the comic page. Instead the comic comes off as having ADHD and at times incoherent and at other times, just plain silly.
Again, the concept is great, and art pretty solid. This is an action comic with the comic version of cut scenes and jump scenes. It’s kinetic, and jumpy, in a bad way. Pilot Season is a contest after all, so out of the three releases so far, this one trails in my opinion and it’s a distant third at that.
(W) Jeff Katz (A) Allan Jefferson (Cov) Marc Silvestri
Pilot Season Begins Anew as a 5 Week Event in 2010!
After settling into the life of loving husband and devoted father in the suburbs, a former assassin for the CIA learns he’s been brainwashed to kill the President of the United States. To his horror, Justin Weller has discovered that in less than 48 hours something or someone will trigger his suppressed program and send him into deadly and irreversible action. Weller must discover his triggering mechanism and uncover who is behind the conspiracy that will pitch the world into chaos.
Created and co-written by Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri (X-Men/Dark Avengers: Utopia) and co-writer Jeff Katz (Booster Gold) with art by Allan Jefferson (War Machine), Crosshair introduces a new kind of action comic.
LOS ANGELES, Calif., September 16, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that first title off of the 2010 Pilot Season slate will arrive in stores next week on September 22nd, 2010. Pilot Season 2010 debuts a new format consisting of five new concepts and five different creative teams released in a span of five weeks. In support of Pilot Season 2010, stateside creators will be embarking on a signing tour coinciding with their pilot’s release.
”Pilot Season is an ideal event for us to schedule signing events around because of the wide variety of talent we have participating each year,” explained Publisher Filip Sablik. “This year is no different with established talent like Marc Silvestri, Jeff Katz, and Phil Noto along side exciting up-and-comers like Jerry Lando, David Marquez, and the dynamic duo of Hill and Levin. We’re all getting out on the campaign trail to win the hearts and minds of our voting public!”
Pilot Season: 39 Minutes’ William Harms and Jerry Lando will kick off the launch of Pilot Season 2010 next week in Las Vegas and Philadelphia, respectively.
TOP COW DEBUTS NEW ‘PILOT SEASON’ CONCEPTS AND FORMAT
LOS ANGELES, Calif., August 9, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that Pilot Season 2010 will debut next month with six new concepts and six different creative teams, and will adopt a 6-week event format. The 32-page preview book, Pilot Season 2010: Declassified, first made available at this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego, will be available in stores later this month.
Since 2007, Top Cow has given fans the power to choose the next two Top Cow series based on a selection of one-shot Pilot Season “pilot” issues through online voting. The inaugural Pilot Season initiative garnered more than four million votes from fans across the globe.
”Pilot Season started as an experiment, but has evolved into a highly anticipated yearly event,” commented Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik, “This year we’re amping up the intensity based on fan and retailer feedback by releasing all 6 projects in a weekly format. With a wide variety of creators, genres, and styles represented, I’m confident there’s something for everyone in this 2010’s contestants!”
The six new concepts include:
Pilot Season: Forever #1 – Created by Matt Hawkins and written by screenwriter Brad Ingelsby with art by Thomas Nachlik with a cover by Bagus Hutomo of IFS, Pilot Season: Forever #1 focuses on a pharmaceutical company, Longevity™, and their development of a drug that extends human life and counters the debilitating effects of aging almost indefinitely.
Pilot Season: 39 Minutes #1 – Created and written by William Harms and debuting art from Jerry Lando with a cover by Rafael Albuquerque, Pilot Season: 39 Minutes #1 turns a heist story on its head when a bank robber’s only solution to getaway from a surrounded bank full of customers and employees is to kill everyone in their way.
Pilot Season: Crosshair #1 – Created and co-written by Marc Silvestri and co-writer Jeff Katz with art by Allan Jefferson, Pilot Season: Crosshair #1 centers on former assassin for the CIA, Justin Weller, who just settled into the life of a loving husband and devoted father in the suburbs, coping with the discovery that he has been brainwashed to kill the President of the United States.
Pilot Season: The Asset #1 – Created and written by Filip Sablk and debuting art from David Marquez with a cover by Jenny Frison, Pilot Season: The Asset #1 redefines the femme fatale for the digital age. Madeline is the woman of Doug’s dreams; the same woman who’s trying to get Doug killed.
Pilot Season: 7 Days from Hell #1 – Created and co-written by the team behind Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box, Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin, with jaw dropping art from industry legend Brian Stelfreeze, Pilot Season: 7 Days from Hell #1 finds ex-pat turned mercenary John Bishop mortally wounded, but spared from Hell by a renegade demon seeking redemption.
Pilot Season: Midway Earth #1 – Created and co-written by Marc Silvestri and Rick Loverd with art from Stjepan Sejic, Pilot Season: Midway Earth #1 sees our home planet as the strategic prize in a brutal war between two alien races.
TOP COW ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2010
Pilot Season 2010:
Pilot Season 2010 will begin anew as a 6-week event debut in the fall. The 6-week schedule is a new element to this year’s Pilot Season competition. Additionally, the promotion will return to include 6 different creative teams after 2009’s event where all the properties were co-created by Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri. Top Cow will be debuting the contestants for the 2010 competition at Comic-International with a Pilot Season 2010 Declassified preview book.
Created by Matt Hawkins and written by screenwriter Brad Ingelsby with art by Thomas Nachlik with a cover by Bagus Hutomo of IFS, Pilot Season: Forever #1 focuses on a pharmaceutical company, Longevity, and their development of a drug that extends human life and counters the debilitating effects of aging almost indefinitely.
Created and written by William Harms and debuting art from Jerry Landon with a cover by Rafael Albuquerque, Pilot Season: 39 Minutes #1 turns a heist story on its head when a bank robber’s only solution to getaway from a surrounded bank full of customers and employees is to kill everyone in town.
Created and co-written by Marc Silvestri and co-writer Jeff Katz with art by Allan Jefferson, Pilot Season: Crosshair #1 centers on former assassin for the CIA, Justin Weller, who just settled into the life of a loving husband and devoted father in the suburbs, coping with the discovery that he has been brainwashed to kill the President of the United States.
Created and written by Filip Sablk and debuting art from David Marquez with a cover by Jenny Frison, Pilot Season: The Asset #1 redefines the femme fatale for the digital age when you’re matched with the woman of your dreams; the same woman who’s trying to get you killed.
Created and co-written by the team behind Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box, Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin, with jaw dropping art from industry legend Brian Stelfreeze, Pilot Season: 7 Days from Hell #1 finds ex-pat turned mercenary John Bishop mortally wounded, but spared from Hell by a renegade demon seeking redemption.
Created and co-written by Marc Silvestri and David Wohl with art from Stjepan Sejic, Pilot Season: Midway Earth #1 sees our home planet as the strategic prize in a brutal war between two alien races.
Top Cow Bible Addendum:
Hot on the heels of the Top Cow Bible, which debuted at Comic-Con International 2009, Top Cow will debut the Top Cow Bible Addendum #1 at Comic-Con International 2010. The 32 page, prestige format comic will feature over 25 brand-new properties spotlighted and introduced to the world for the first time. This collection will include upcoming contestants in Pilot Season 2010 as well as new properties debuting as series from Top Cow and Minotaur Press in 2010 and 2011. Each property will include a summary and brand new key art and showcase Top Cow’s motto of “We Create…” Additionally, the back of the Top Cow Bible Addendum #1 will contain several pages of “In Development” properties, which will tease upcoming projects.
Pitt Comics and Reprints:
Top Cow proudly announces that it has acquired the rights to Pitt, the seminal character created by legendary artist Dale Keown. Keown has long considered himself part of the Top Cow family and this deal solidifies his ongoing relationship and commitment to the Cow. As part if this, Top Cow will collect previously published Pitt comics in trade paperbacks (which have never been collected before) as well as produce new Pitt comics and merchandise. Future Pitt comics will feature covers by Keown and be co-written and art directed by the creator.
Minotaur Press Revival:
Top Cow proudly announces the return of the Minotaur Press imprint to their line. The imprint is best known for releasing such series as Obergeist by Tony Harris and Dan Jolley and Felon by Greg Rucka. The return of the imprint is part of Top Cow’s efforts to create three distinct, clear lines of comics. These lines will include Top Cow Universe, which encompasses series such as Witchblade The Darkness, and Artifacts, that take place in the shared Top Cow Universe; Top Cow Productions, which will include stand alone color series such as Mysterious Ways, Sunset, and Rest; and lastly, Minotaur Press, which will act a home for more independent styled series. The first series to launch under the revived Minotaur Press will be Echoes created and written by Joshua Hale Fialkov (Tumor, Alibi) with toned art by Rahsan Ekedal. The series follows a man, who discovers his dead father may have been a serial killer and when new bodies begin to surface he’s left to wonder if he has inherited his father’s tendencies. The second series planned for release under the Minotaur Press line is Last Mortal. Last Mortal is co-created and written by Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik (Pilot Season: Asset) and newcomer John Mahoney and co-created and drawn by Thomas Nachlik (Pilot Season: Forever). That series tells the story of a small time criminal who discovers after trying to kill himself that he is immortal.
Mysterious Ways:
Video game industry legend Jason Rubin makes his triumphant return to comics with a brand new series entitled Mysterious Ways. Best known for creating Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter, Rubin made his initial splash in comics with The Iron Saint (originally published under the title Iron and the Maiden). The Iron Saint makes its collected trade debut at Comic-Con International along with a special sneak peek of Mysterious Ways #1 as part of the Top Cow First Look trade paperback. Mysterious Ways features art by Green Lantern Corps artist Tyler Kirkham, inker Sal Regla, and colorist Arif Prianto of IFS. The series follows the story of washed up ex-cop Sam, who has slid into a pit of despair and drinking his life away after killing his corrupt partner. When a serial killer begins killing innocent women around town, the police suspect Sam. As Sam races to clear his name he discovers that the Lord works in very Mysterious Ways indeed. Mysterious Ways is slated for release in late 2010/early 2011.
Rest:
Top Cow Productions and DiVide Pictures are proud to announce the return of fan favorite property Rest. Originally published by Devil’s Due Publishing, Rest chronicles the adventures of John, a man who becomes one of the first human test subjects for a drug, which removes the need for sleep. Imagine what you could do if you had an extra eight hours every day and always felt awake and refreshed. The dream soon becomes a nightmare as John discovers that he may not be the first subject and the drug may have unforeseen side effects. Three issues of Rest, issues #0, #1, and #2, have been released previously. Top Cow and DiVide will be utilizing a unique publishing plan to relaunch Rest. Issues #3-5, which complete the series, will be released exclusively digitally in single-issue form, along with making issues #0-2 available digitally. The issues will be released leading up to the release of the trade paperback in October at New York Comic-Con. More details will be forthcoming on specifics for the digital release plan.
BE AMONG THE FIRST TO START THE ARTIFACTS JOURNEY TOP COW AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2010
LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 12, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc.’s race to Artifacts will include a stop at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, the world’s biggest and most exciting popular convention, from July 22nd – 25th.
Top Cow will once again storm into the convention and set up shop at booth #2629. Among the goods to prepare attendees of CCI 2010 for the race to Artifacts will be exclusives, preview books, free goodies, variant comics and trade paperbacks, including free copies of Artifacts #0 as well as other comics, posters and bookmarks (while supplies last).
Attendees are invited to join Marc Silvestri (Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia), President Matt Hawkins, and Publisher Filip Sablik for an exciting and lively multimedia presentation about Top Cow’s plans for 2010 and 2011 in comics, film, television and much more. Be the first to hear announcements and updates on film projects including Witchblade, Magdalena, Alibi, Wanted, and The A-Team. Plus announcements on new comic projects with creators including Ron Marz (Artifacts), Jeff Katz (American Original, Freddy vs. Jason), Phil Hester (The Darkness) plus surprise guest directors, screenwriters, producers and more! The panel will be featured in room 9 from 1:30-2:30pm under the title Top Cow: “We Create” Multimedia, on Saturday, July 24th.
The schedule for signings as well as portfolio reviews at Top Cow booth #2629 will be released at a later date and will be available online at www.topcow.com as well as at the booth at the start of each day.
Joining the Top Cow team at booth #2629 will be Marc Silvestri, Ron Marz (Artifacts), Phil Hester (The Darkness), Michael Broussard (Artifacts), Kenneth Rocafort (Velocity), Jeremy Haun (Berserker), Eric Basaldua (Witchblade Annual), William Harms (Impaler), Rob Levin (Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box), Bryan Edward Hill (Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box), Nelson Blake II (Magdalena), Marc Bernardin (Genius), Adam Freeman (Genius), Jeff Wamester (The Darkness: Four Horsemen), David Hine (The Darkness: Four Horsemen), Jason Rubin (The Iron Saint), Joshua Ortega (Necromancer), Rick Loverd (Berserker), Sheldon Mitchell (The Darkness), Rahsan Ekedal (The Crazies, Echoes), Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Crazies, Echoes), Randy Queen (The Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom Pain), Sarah Queen (The Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom Pain), Jonathan Lincoln (Tracker), Rick Basaldua (The Darkness) and several other surprise guests.
Fans should note that because of anticipated crowding issues; artists appearing at the Top Cow booth will only be able to do a limited amount of free sketches per sitting. Sketch tickets will be available at the beginning of each day of the show. Sketch tickets are limited one per fan per day. Fans must be present at the appointed signing time to redeem their sketch ticket. Not all artists appearing at the Top Cow booth will offer free sketches and fans should inquire at the booth on the morning they plan to get a sketch for availability.
Also at the Top Cow booth #2629, the publisher will offer several items exclusive to Comic-Con International including three convention variant cover comic exclusives, two limited edition hardcovers, and an unannounced bargain-priced anthology book.
Fans who stop by the booth will be among the first to grab a copy of the debut issue to mega-event series, Artifactsby Marz and Broussard. Artifacts promises to be Top Cow’s most ambitious series to date and will weave together story lines from a number of Top Cow titles, including Witchblade, The Darkness, Angelus and Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box. It has been known for some time that thirteen mystical Artifacts guide the fate of the Top Cow Universe. For centuries, it’s been whispered that bringing together all 13 artifacts would bring upon mankind’s destruction. The series will begin with a mysterious figure who seeks to put Armageddon into motion. Artifacts #1 will arrive in stores on Wednesday, July 28th.
For up-to-date information on Top Cow’s plans at Comic-Con International in San Diego, please visit www.topcow.com or follow us on Twitter (@TopCow).
Jeff Katz announced Tuesday on Twitter (proving again it’s THE place for announcements) he was launching GeekWeek, a new website that acts as a one stop shop for all things geek including comics, movies, tv, dvd, video games, wrestling, mma, music, sports, tech, toys, gossip and women.
Katz was formerly a producer for New Line Cinema and Fox and responsible for such movies as Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and X-Men. He’s also written comic books such as The Wicked West for Image Comics and co-written DC Comics’ Booster Gold and Wildstorm & Dynamite’s Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash.
In 2009 he launched American Original a “nerd machine” that will produce movies, TV shows, Web projects and graphic novels.
Should be fun to see what he and his crew produce and good luck!
The studio behind Twilight and Red has picked up Top Cow‘s Crosshair to be made into a feature film. Summit Entertainment recently received $750 million in financing, which will allow the studio to produce a number of new films, and Crosshair is one of the first projects that Summit has announced.
