With its debut slate of comics wrapping up, Black Mask Studios, is teasing what we can expect in March 2014, with the full line-up being announced next month. The creator-supporting comics publisher was founded by Matt Pizzolo, Brett Gurewitz,and Steve Niles.
One of the more interesting debuts from the publisher in 2013 was 12 Reasons to Die. The transmedia story integrated a comic and album release, not shocking since two people behind it were RZA and Ghostface Killah. Black Mask Studios is continuing this collaborative and interesting effort in 2014 with their announced team-up of the legendary animal rights hardcore punk band Earth Crisis with the animal-avenging vigilante story Liberator for Liverator/Earth Crisis: Salvation of Innocents. Black Mask revealed that the 12 Reasons To Die comic book sold nearly as many copies in record stores as it did in comic book stores, demonstrating how effective this multi-pronged distribution approach can be at finding new readers for comic book creators.
Black Mask’s primary goal is to support comics creators, and part of that is by cultivating a space where creators can feel safe to support one another. The March debuting Liberator Volume 1 collected book reflects this mission’s success so far, with the book featuring 40 brand new, previously unreleased comic stories taking place in the world of Liberator written by a range of creators including Tim Seeley, Ales Kot, Ed Brisson , Alex de Campi, Frank Barbiere, Fabian Rangel Jr, Megan Hutchison, Matt Pizzolo, Matthew Rosenberg, and Adam Egypt Mortimer.
Check what you can expect Liberator related in March 2014 below!
LIBERATOR/EARTH CRISIS: Salvation of Innocents #1
Creator: Matt Miner
Producer: Matt Pizzolo
Writers: Matt Miner, Earth Crisis
Illustrators: Javier Aranda (pencils/inks), Joaquin Pereyra (colors).
Cover A: Menton3
Cover B: Rod Reis
32 pages / T+ / Full-color / $3.99
Comic book street date: March 5
Album street date: March 4 (Candlelight Records)
“Earth Crisis has wanted to have a comic that went along with an album’s lyrical concept for a while, but we didn’t think one existed that shared the same vision of the band, until now! Liberator and Matt Miner are just what we’ve been waiting for, and we are honored to have him help us tell the story!” -Earth Crisis
“Working with EARTH CRISIS on the comic book side of Salvation of Innocents has been a dream project for me. Our styles, ethics, and ideologies are a fitting match and I’m super excited for folks to read the story.” -Matt Miner, creator Liberator
“It’s crazy to me that it took twenty years for comics to produce a set of animal-minded vigilantes strong enough to roll with EARTH CRISIS. It’s probably the most perfectly aligned superhero team-up ever.” -Matt Pizzolo, Black Mask Studios
Hardcore punk legends Earth Crisis join forces with Liberator for this unique comics & music collaboration, telling the story of a young janitor in an animal testing lab who stumbles on a dark conspiracy and is inspired to rescue the animals.
Different sides of the same story are told in the simultaneously released comic book and concept album.
When Sarah Mann takes a crappy custodial job at a cosmetics lab, she discovers cold-blooded scientist Dr. Elena Reznik’s secret facility where illegal vivisections are performed on live, conscious animals. Inspired by the stories of Jeanette and Damon’s animal liberations, Sarah pulls on her own mask and sets out to rescue the tortured animals.
LIBERATOR Vol .1 Rage Ignition
Creator/Writer: Matt Miner
Illustrators: Javier Aranda (pencils/inks), Joaquin Pereyra (colors)
Cover: Tim Seeley
New Stories:
“This Is You”
Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Tim Seeley (pencils/inks), K. Michael Russell (colors)
“Liber”
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Morgan Jeske
“Broken”
Written by Ed Brisson
Illustrated by Brian Level
“Politics”
Written by Alex de Campi
Illustrated by Sally Jane Thompson (pencils/inks), Jenn Manley Lee (colors)
“What’s a hero, anyway?”
Written by Frank Barbiere
Illustrated by Matthew Marks
“Liberation”
Written & Illustrated by Megan Hutchison
“Anchor Point”
Written by Matt Miner
Illustrated by Tess Fowler
“Unlocking”
Written by Fabian Rangel, Jr.
Illustrated by Jonathan Brandon Sawyer (pencils/inks), Doug Garbark (colors)
“Untouchable”
Written by Matt Pizzolo
“We Are What We Are”
Written by Matthew Rosenberg and Patrick Kindlon
Illustrated by Ariela Rie Kristantina
“Rage”
Written by Adam Egypt Mortimer
Illustrated by Ryan Lee
144 pages / T+ / Full-color / $14.99
Acclaimed from the establishment media of the NY Post to the activist trenches of Earth First, Liberator brings real-world vigilante-heroism to comics for the first time–demonstrated by its popular hook “Real heroes don’t wear capes, they wear ski-masks.”
Whether it’s vicious dog-fighting clubs or senseless lab experiments force-feeding oven cleaners to monkeys, Jeanette Francis and Damon Guerrero have had enough. Using any and all means available to them, Jeanette and Damon not only rescue the animals but also avenge them – delivering harsh retribution to the animals’ captors and tormentors.
This book collects Liberator issues 1-4 into a single volume for the first time. Collected for the first time, this 144-page volume includes 40 pages of brand-new, previously unreleased comic stories taking place in the world of Liberator.
1/3 of Liberator profits will go to animal rescue initiatives.
Writer Matt Miner in the first volume of Liberator showed that real heroes don’t wear capes. In his case, his wore ski-masks, but the greater point was that amazing things can be done by individuals when they stand up for the issues they believe in. These heroes fought to save and help those who can’t speak for themselves, animals. No matter your thought on the subject, the first volume created an entertaining series that opened up the issue for those unfamiliar. In the second volume, Miner has teamed up with legendary hardcore band Earth Crisis.
