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Warpaint by Phil Hester and John McCrea.
Colour by Andrew Elder.
© 2010 Phil Hester and John McCrea |
Print Media Productions has announced two more projects for its upcoming
Strip Magazine, launching in early 2011 - two brand new creator-owned strips,
Warpaint by Phil Hester and John McCrea and
Lawless by Ferg Handley and Kev Hopgood.
In
Warpaint, a homeless teen finds herself drawn into a cataclysmic struggle between mankind and elemental monsters bent on the destruction of our world. Clad in a hulking, indestructible second skin, and with the aid of a mischievous trickster god, Mia Tsatoke must not only defeat the rampaging behemoths, but navigate the perilous path between her own fragile humanity and the vast, unearthly power now at her fingertips. Only by confronting her own painful past can she solve the puzzle that will bring an end to the seemingly eternal cycle of violence. Only by donning her Warpaint can she bring peace.
Written by Eisner Award-nominated artist
Phil Hester (
Green Arrow,
The Black Terror) with art by Eisner Award-winner
John McCrea (Judge Dredd, Hitman), Warpaint is a fast paced, but thoughtful adventure bridging the worlds of fantasy, American Indian mythology, bleak realism, dystopian science fiction, and super heroic action. it is a tale that will engage readers from the full spectrum of comics fandom and hopefully beyond.
"Ever since my 16-year-old self saw a moldering stack of UK weeklies in the corner of my first comic shop, I have longed to be part of the UK and European comics scene," says Phil Hester. I'm so happy to be a part of
Strip Magazine's effort to storm the newsstand with smart, fun, breakneck action stories. The chance to work again with the brilliant John McCrea makes this one a dream come true.
Warpaint is a strip we think is unlike anything else in comics and we can't wait to show it to you."
"I try to work with Phil as much as possible," adds John McCrea. "His writing is smart and cool, with characters you believe in and care about- and so it is with
Warpaint. Add to the mix that I get to work with the extremely talented Andrew Elder, whose colouring would make even a mediocre artist look good and I am, to quote Proust, an extremely happy bunny."
John McCrea will be on the
Strip Magazine stand at the British International Comic Show later this month to talk about
Warpaint at some point during the weekend.
Also heading for Strip Magazine later in 2011 will be the dramatic historical adventure
Lawless, the incredible story of Jack Lawless and the Irish Legion, a band of renegades and outcasts who fought against the British in the tumultuous era of the Napoleonic wars.
Written by
Ferg Handley (
Commando,
GI Joe,
Spider-Man) and drawn by
Kev Hopgood (co-creator of Marvel's War Machine, artist on Games Workshop's
Darkblade),
Lawless is a creator-owned tale bringing historical action adventure back to British mainstream comics with a vengeance.
Lawless creator Kev Hopgood says of the tale: "I’ve been a huge enthusiast for the Napoleonic period since I can remember, but have never had the chance to tell a story with that setting before. Now is the time!"
"When Kev approached me with the concept, I bit his hand off," added Ferg. "I’ve always been fascinated by the Napoleonic era, and the Irish Legion angle made me think 'hmm, The Pogues in uniform…'"
Ferg Handley's first professional comic was
Commando 3102 published in December 1997. Since then, he has written over 250
Commando titles and carved a name for himself largely as a popular comics writer for UK comics such as
Spectacular Spider-Man,
Marvel Heroes and
GI Joe.
Kev Hopgood has a long a varied career in comic books and children’s illustration. Starting out with such strips as
Zoids,
Action Force and
Night Zero for UK publishers he went on to went onto a three year run on
Iron Man for Marvel Comics. During this time he co-created the character War Machine. Following a stint in the computer games industry he went to work on the
Darkblade strip for Games Workshop.
Nowadays he splits his time between comic strip work for publishers Panini UK and Eaglemoss and children’s illustration for companies such as Oxford University Press, Barrington Stoke and Franklin Watts.
Strip Magazine, a new monthly magazine for the UK news stand, will launch in 2011, along with a series of graphic albums that include numerous creator-owned projects from creators such as PJ Holden, James Hudnall, John Ridgway, Gordon Rennie, SMS and others.
The Iron Moon, a steampunk adventure by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page, launches the range in October.
Based in Lancaster, Print Media Productions is the UK arm of Bosnia-based Print Media, publishers of
Strip Magazin,
Plavi and
Metal Hurlant.
Strip Magazine is their first UK title.
• For more information about Print Media Productions and STRIP Magazine visit www.stripmagazine.co.uk• Follow Phil Hester on Twitter: http://twitter.com/philhester
• For more about John McCrea visit: http://john-mccrea.blogspot.com or www.johnmccrea.com
• For more about Kev Hopgood visit: www.kevhopgood.demon.co.uk
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) and this set comes packed with several special features - although, not, sadly any of John M. Burns superb strips published in the 1970s comic Look-In.
series published by Canongate Books. Moleskine, makers of the legendary notebook used by some of the world's most celebrated artists and writers, has just launched new limited edition notebooks to commemorate one of the 20th century's most widely adored artists and help mark the 60th Anniversary of the strip's launch.
(UK) 
(US)
- X'ed Out has not been previously serialised anywhere and will have readers guessing at every unnervingly meticulous panel. Drawing inspiration from such diverse influences as Herge and William Burroughs, X'ed Out is an engrossing new comic book fever-dream, from a true master of the form at the height of his powers. 
