Tag Archives: michael schwartz

Crowdfunding Corner: Armored, Andy and his suit of armor return for more action and adventure

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Backer Beware: Crowdfunding projects are not guaranteed to be delivered and/or delivered when promised. We always recommend to do your research before backing.

Armored is a spooky, supernatural comic book series about an orphan who stumbles across a mystical suit of armor haunted by the ghost who wore it centuries ago. Created and written by Michael Schwartz, Armored is illustrated by Ismael Hernandez, lettered by Ferran Delgado, and edited by Eisner-winner Chris Stevens. Issues 3-5 are now being crowdfunded by Clover Press and feature NEW covers by superstar artists David Mack, Becky Cloonan, Trevor Henderson, and Jeff Dickson. And not to be missed, Matthew Therrien continues his stunning character portraits!

Issues 1 and 2 saw orphaned teen Andy get adopted by a strange couple who lost their son under mysterious circumstances. When Andy starts at a new school out in the countryside, he accidentally discovers a haunted suit of armor and its ghostly keeper, Sir William. When Andy is attacked by the same mysterious creature that killed his adoptive parents’ biological son, Sir William and the suit help Andy defeat the monster — but the monster was conjured by someone, and they’ll stop at nothing to gain control of the armor. Issues 3 to 5 unravel the mystery of who that certain someone is and open up the world of Armored to bigger mysteries and further adventures!  

The Armored Kickstarter runs until Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 12:00 AM EDT.

Exclusive: Get a Look at Armored #2’s variant cover by Jeff Dickson!

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Screenwriter Michael Schwartz is making his comic book writing debut with Armored, a spooky, supernatural comic book series about an orphan who stumbles across a mystical suit of armor haunted by the ghost who wore it centuries ago. Created and written by Schwartz, Armored is illustrated by Ismael Hernandez, lettered by Ferran Delgado, and edited by Eisner-winner Chris Stevens. The five-issue comic book series features covers by artists Jae Lee, Nick Pitarra, Chrissie Zullo, Scott Kolins, Matthew Therrien, and Jeff Dickson. The project is being crowdfunded on Kickstarter by Clover Press.

Meet orphaned teen Andy, whose parents mysteriously vanished years before he was adopted at the outset of our story. When Andy starts at a new school out in the countryside, he accidentally discovers a haunted suit of armor and its ghostly keeper, Sir William. When Andy is attacked by the same mysterious creature that killed his adoptive parents’ biological son, Sir William and the suit help Andy defeat the monster — but the monster was conjured by someone, and they’ll stop at nothing to gain control of the armor. 

Sir William must train Andy to use the armor properly — not just to defeat the other creatures being summoned by the mysterious antagonist, but also to defeat an even more dangerous other-worldly being prophesied to return to Earth and take the suit of armor for its own kind. As he faces off against more and more horrifying monsters, Andy will need to learn to look within himself to find the strength to overcome his own demons in order to save the Earth. But this mystery may be bigger than just Andy and his suit…

We’ve got an exclusive look at the variant cover for Armored #2 by Jeff Dickson and get a look at more art from the first issue of Armored! Check it out below then check out the project and support it!

NYCC 2012 – Aspen Comics Heads to the Big Apple

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Aspen Comics is returning to the Big Apple and New York Comic Con on the eve of their tenth anniversary, and have released their schedule of events and exclusives for the weekend. Creators Frank Mastromauro, Peter Steigerwald, JT Krul, Greg Pak, Alex Konat, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, Cory Smith, Jordan Gunderson and more will be taking part in Aspen’s plans for the weekend including the Official Aspen Comics Panel 2012 and creator signings at the Aspen Comics Booth #1213 throughout the weekend.

Aspen has revealed that the all new Aspen mini-series Charismagic: The Death Princess will see its world premiere at the convention three weeks prior to its official release date with an exclusive Charismagic: The Death Princess #1 NYCC 2012 variant by Khary Randolph and series artist Emilio Lopez, limited to 300 copies.

The publisher is pleased to announce a very special appearance by supermodel and Idolized series cover model Rachel Clark, along with cover photographer, Michael Schwartz. The pair teamed up to provide an exclusive Idolized #3 NYCC Photo Cover for the convention, limited to 300 copies, and will be appearing at the Aspen Comics Booth #1213 on Saturday from 2pm to 3pm.

Along with the special Idolized #3 variant cover, Aspen will also be offering an Executive Assistant: Assassins #4 NYCC exclusive cover limited to 300 copies, and featuring all new cover art by Alex Konat, and Beth Sotelo. Konat will also be appearing all weekend long at the Aspen Comics Booth #1213.

The final Aspen Tour Print of 2012 will be available at the Aspen Booth #1213 all weekend long, along with an all new series of Aspen’s industry-leading art prints featuring Aspen’s most popular cover art and characters.

The Official Aspen Comics 2012 panel is on Friday from 1:30-2:30 in Room 1A01 and will feature the very first inside look at the company’s “10 for 10” initiative, the most ambitious project yet for Aspen on the eve of their 10 year anniversary. Aspen’s Frank Mastromauro, Peter Steigerwald, J.T. Krul, Greg Pak, Alex Konat, Cory Smith, Jordan Gunderson, Khary Randolph and Emilio Lopez will showcase the early releases for the “10 for 10” initiative, as well as other Aspen releases for 2013, including the “Executive Extinction” crossover event, the publisher’s first novel, “The Lost Spark”, and much more.

Preview – Idolized #2

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IDOLIZED VOL. 1 ISSUE 2

Writer: David Schwartz
Pencils: Micah Gunnell and Pasquale Qualano
Colors: David Curiel
Covers: Humberto Ramos and Peter Steigerwald (cover A), Rachel Clark as Joule, photographed by Michael Schwartz, with effects by Peter Steigerwald (cover B).

While trying out for the hit new TV show, “Superhero Idol”, 18-year-old Leslie Linnell (aka Joule) must compete for a spot in the crime-fighting group “The Powered Protectors”.

She must prove her courage, powers, and ability to win the hearts of millions of viewers so that she can seek vengeance for her parents tragic death at the hand of the villian, Stasis!

IDOLIZED #2 is in stores September 26th, 2012!

A Super-Model Super-Hero!

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A SUPER-MODEL SUPER-HERO!

ASPEN COMICS PARTNERS WITH SUPER-MODEL RACHEL CLARK AND HIGH-FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER MICHAEL SCHWARTZ TO CREATE STUNNING PHOTO COVERS FOR IDOLIZED PLUS, ASPEN ANNOUNCES IDOLIZED COVERS FROM ART ADAMS, JOE BENITEZ, KERON GRANT AND MORE!

Aspen Comics is proud to announce that their upcoming new series IDOLIZED will feature a series of covers shot by renowned photographer Michael Schwartz, and featuring supermodel Rachel Clark.  For the exclusive IDOLIZED photo shoot, a special costume was constructed, allowing Ms. Clark to appear as IDOLIZED’s dark and disturbed super-powered protagonist, Joule.

“We’re thrilled to be working with such amazing talent for IDOLIZED”, said Aspen President Frank Mastromauro.  “Rachel and Michael are major names in the fashion industry, and they’ve brought something truly special, unique, and absolutely gorgeous to our covers.” Rachel has been the face of Louis Vuitton, D&G and Victoria’s Secret’s ‘PINK’ line.  She’s appeared in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Vogue, and in ad campaigns for Levis, Louis Vuitton, D&G, Barney’s and Neiman Marcus.  She’s walked the runway for the likes of Christian Dior, John Galliano, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan, Salvatore Ferragamo and numerous others. Perhaps most importantly, she’s also a total comic book junkie and a major World of Warcraft player.

Michael Schwartz shoots for an amazing list of some of the biggest names in the fashion and entertainment industries, including Victoria’s Secret, Hugo Boss, J Crew, Universal Music, Madewell, Polydor Records and editorial clients such as V Magazine, V Man, Harper’s Bazaar, Dazed & Confused, Dansk, Exit, Metal and now Aspen Comics.

“It was really exciting to bring a drawing to life,” Schwartz raved, “especially with such an amazing model to help make this happen.” The shoot took place on Sunday, January 15th in New York, and nearly 1500 images were taken over the course of the day. In fact, there so many spectacular photos taken, that the Aspen editorial team had a nearly impossible time narrowing them down to just 1 cover image for each issue. “At some point, we may have to collect all of our other favorites and publish them in a book of just the photos,” said Aspen Editor-in-Chief Vince Hernandez.  “They’re just really, really cool, stunning images and we want to be able to get as many of them out there, in print, as possible.” Of course, each issue of IDOLIZED will be having traditional comic books covers as well, and they’ve got an incredible line-up of some of the biggest names in comics providing those covers, including ART ADAMS, JOE BENITEZ and a painted cover from KERON GRANT.

IDOLIZED is Aspen’s first-ever superhero series, so they’re pulling out all the stops. It tells the story of girl with super-powers and a tortured past, who seeks revenge, and ultimately finds redemption, over the course of competing in a televised super-hero competition show.  Essentially, it’s “True Grit” meets “American Idol” with capes.  The series is written by Michael’s brother David B. Schwartz (acclaimed writer of Image Comics’ “MELTDOWN”, “Aspen Showcase: Ember” and “Fathom: Blue Descent”), with explosive art by Micah Gunnell (“Shrugged”, “Executive Assistant: Orchid”, “Dellec”) and colors by David Curiel (“Executive Assistant: Orchid”).  The first issue will debut in June 2012.

Please visit www.Facebook.com/IdolizedComic for more details on the series.

For more information on Aspen Comics, please check www.aspencomics.com or www.aspenstore.com  www.Facebook.com/aspencomics