Tag Archives: sami makkonen

The Kalevala, which inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings, is getting a graphic novel adaptation

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Ablaze has announced the upcoming release of a stunning comic adaptation of the epic The Kalevala, which inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings. It’s the foundational epic of the fantasy genre. The story and art is by Sami Makkonen.

Kalevala tells of the adventures and fates of wizard Väinämöinen, warrior Lemminkäinen, blacksmith Ilmarinen and other larger-than- life characters seeking love, riches, and magic in the faraway lands of the ancient North.

This is a bold approach to The Kalevala by an established talent — visually powerful and accessible.

Sami Makkonen is internationally renowned and is a recipient of the Sarjas Award for Best Fantasy Fiction. He also has been nominated for the Ghastly Awards for his horror work among numerous other awards.

Kalevala: The Graphic Novel is set for release September 24, 2024 and will retail for $29.99.

Kalevala: The Graphic Novel

Preview: The Circle #2

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THE CIRCLE #2

Writer: Damon Clark
Artist Name: Alyzia Zherno
Cover Artist(s): Alyzia Zherno, Sami Makkonen
32 pgs./ M / FC
$3.99 (reg.), $4.99 (var.)

Christian has found his place with his new Circle of friends, but he soon finds out not everyone is what they seem. He will perform his first ritual and his first kill, and now he wants out!

the-circle-2-cover

The Looking Glass Wars: Crossfire. Rally the Chessmen!

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LGW_Crossfire-CVRRally the Chessmen! Wonderland is under attack!

Dashing rogue Ovid Grey, an ex-Milliner, is ordered to Earth by Queen Alyss and charged with recovering a shard of Heart Crystal that’s powering cross-realm riots of Black Imagination. He teams with a British secret agent and embarks on a quest that takes him from London to Venice, discovering along the way that, to succeed, he’ll very much have to act the criminal.

Crystal shard in hand, Ovid returns home with the devastating intel that Wonderland is about to be attacked by the barbaric tribes of neighboring Boarderland. Ovid vows to fight for Queen Alyss, who activates the Chessboard; battalions of Chessmen take to the streets of Wondertropolis and beyond, occupying defensive positions. And then…

They come: axe-wielding Boarderlanders eager for blood, galloping in on the mutant jabberwocky known as jabbers.

Black Imagination, rampaging Rumble Makers, and the future of Wonderland: all are caught in the crossfire of this thrilling follow-up to the New York Times bestselling trilogy, The Looking Glass Wars.

Once again Wonderland’s forces of light must unite to battle the darkness.

THE LOOKING GLASS WARS: CROSSFIRE
by Frank Beddor and Curtis Clark, illo. by Sami Makkonen
Pages: 160
Format: Hardcover
SRP: $24.99
Age Range: Teen (14+)
Publisher: Automatic Publishing
Distributor: Publishers Group West
Pub Date: April 19, 2016
Item Code: FEB161201
ISBN: 978-0-9912729-4-5

A New Tale From a Zombie Classic Deadworld: Restoration

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IDW Publishing has announced Deadworld the renowned zombie classic will come back to life this December.  Gary Reed and Sami Makkonen, the same creative team that brought us Deadworld: War of the Dead, continue where they last left off and push the story into even darker territory with Deadworld: Restoration.

The lepers have been slaughtered, the people who escaped the breeder pits head for the safety of New Washington, and now the zombies are under the control of Donna, the half-human/half-zombie hybrid.  With King Zombie dead, Donna is the leader of the zombies…or is she?

Deadworld: War of the Dead was the first Deadworld to be presented in color and won the Ghastly Award as Best Mini-Series of 2012 as well as received the same nominations from the Shel Dorf Awards and the Comic Monsters Awards.  Check out the next chapter to the series described by Talking Comics as “frightening, haunting, gloomy, grave and delectably, mystifying.”

Gary Reed is the one of the original writers of the Deadworld series and long time contributor as well as the co-created and writer of the Harvey Award nominee for Best New Series, Baker Street.

Sami Makkonen of Eisner Award nominated series Hatter M fame has won the prestigious Sarjis Award in Finland for Best Illustrator and is the artist for IDW’s recently released Ryse: Son of Damocles digital interactive graphic novel.

Celebrate Deadweek This August!

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CELEBRATE DEADWEEK THIS AUGUST!

Gary Reed’s DEADWORLD returns in a weekly miniseries!

[Deadworld Cover Image]San Diego, CA (May 16, 2012) – This August, IDW Publishing is proud to announce the return of original co-creator Gary Reed’s classic zombie series Deadworld! When vicious masses of undead monsters have taken over the planet, desperate humans cling to hope while warring factions of uniquely sinister zombies conspire against each other. Deadworld is a zombie tale unlike any other and a horrific and thrilling world that is decades in the making and unique unto itself.

“It seems like everything with Deadworld over the years is culminating towards this storyline, yet at the same time, it is an opportunity to introduce new readers to the Deadworld saga. That’s why I’m so excited about this series, as it accomplishes both” said co-creator Reed.

Deadworld has seen a number of different formats and volumes over the years, but Reed’s collaboration with artist Sami Makkonen, Deadworld: War of the Dead will be hitting comic shop shelves in a particularly thrilling fashion this August. War of the Dead will be released weekly in every one of August’s five weeks!

Five issues of grim and terrifying zombie action in one month? What could be better?

Oh, that’s right, five issues of Deadworld in horrifying, skull-crushing full-color! For the first time!

As a bonus salvo in IDW’s August Deadworld onslaught, Deadworld Classic Volume 1 and Volume 2 will be offered again; as well as the hit Deadworld: Last Siesta TPB!

About IDW Publishing

IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s DOCTOR WHO; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coasts Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; and the Eisner-Award winning Locke & Key series, created by best-selling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, and Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.

IDW’s critically- and fan-acclaimed series are continually moving into new mediums. Currently, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney are creating a feature film based on World War Robot, while Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes and Sony are bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film.