Preview: A1 anthology returns in June, via Titan Comics

Titan Comics has announced the return of A1, the award-winning anthology series by Dave Elliott - and the company has released some early preview pages from its first three strips.

Due to hit comic shops on 5th June, A1 is a new monthly series featuring three fantastic ongoing strips: Weirding Willows, Odyssey and Carpe DIEm.

A1 has a long pedigree in comics. Launched in the late 1980s as an outlet for the creator-owned stories of Dave Elliott and Gary Leach, the award-winning anthology quickly became a place where big-name industry friends could follow their creator-owned desires and publish their own material. Some of those industry friends included Alan Moore, Barry Windsor-Smith, Eddie Campbell, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Bill Sienkiewicz, Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, Glenn Fabry, Peter Milligan, David Lloyd, Phil Bond, Jamie Hewlett, Dougie Braithwaite, Grant Morrison, Moebius, Alan Martin, D’Israeli, Kelly Jones, Nick Abadzis, Steve Dillon and many, many more.

Now, Elliott is taking A1 back to its roots, with three top-grade tales created by himself and his closest artistic friends, released as part of a co-publishing venture between Titan Comics and Atomeka.

When asked about his love for the anthology format Dave said, “For me there is a joy in putting anthologies together. They are so easy to get wrong and wonderful when they turn out right. A1 has always been about variety, but consistent in quality.”  

A1 now returns monthly, showcasing three brand-new ongoing stories reflecting the variety it has always been known for.

Weirding Willows by writer Dave Elliott and artists Barnaby Bagenda, Sami Basri, Sakti Yuwono & Jessica Kholinne, sees the worlds of Wonderland, OZ, Neverland, Mars, Pellucidar and Elysium leak through portals into the little English town of Willow Weir, as Alice and her allies defend her world from the things that would come through those portals to destroy them. Here's some preview art...

Odyssey by writer Dave Elliott and artists Garrie Gastonny and Sakti Yuwono, follows an immortal military superhero, out of place and time, who finds himself in the middle of an eternal war for mankind between Angels and Demons. Here's some preview art...

Carpe DIEm by writer W. H. Rauf and artist/creator Rhoald Marcelius, follows an offbeat group of the world’s seven greatest assassins: one for each day of the week. Their leader is always a Sir Monday… but the rest of the team always hate Mondays! A riot of colour and concepts in a Tank Girl vein. Here's some preview art...

“Dave’s address book is legendary within the industry,” says Steve White, Senior Editor at Titan Comics, “But so is his dedication to new ideas, and finding new creators to bring them to life. He’s always been a creator’s creator, and the new A1 shows the kind of beautiful adventures he can inspire. It’s a fantastic package.”  

A1 #1 comes with three main covers to collect: Weirding Willows cover by artist, Stanley ‘Artgerm’ Lau; Odyssey cover by series artists Gastonny and Yuwono; Carpe DIEm cover by series artists, Marcelius.

#1 will hit comic stores on 5th June, 2013. The series will also be available to read day and date on the iPad, iPhone, Web, Android and Kindle Fire, exclusively through the comiXology app and comiXology.com 

• To keep up-to-date with news from Titan Comics, visit www.titan-comics.com or join them on Facebook or Twitter

• Retailers can order A1 #1 from the February 2013 edition of Diamond PREVIEWS. For updates retailers can sign-up to the Titan Comics retail newsletter, here or follow @TitanRetail on Twitter

Titan Comics, A1 Publisher Dave Elliott unite for new Co-Publishing Venture

Hot on the heels of the recent announcement that Titan Comics is offering new original creator-owned series in 2013, Titan has released information about a new co-publishing venture with A1 publisher, Dave Elliott.

Dave Elliott has more than 25 years of experience working in the comic book industry. He created Sharky and Maximum Force and has worked on diverse titles such as Deadline, 2000AD, Justice League of America, Transformers and GI Joe.  In 2006, he co-founded Radical Studios and played an integral role in the development and launch of Radical’s premiere comic book titles, several of which have now begun development as film properties – including Hercules, Shrapnel, Caliber, Hotwire, and The Last Days of American Crime and Oblivion, which is due to hit cinemas in May and stars Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman.

The new publishing venture between Titan Comics and Dave launches in June 2013 and will see the release of brand-new comics and stunning new and classic graphic novels.

The first wave hits from June 2013 with two new series: A1, a monthly revival of the famously experimental anthology and the new music-festival adventure, Tomorrowland.

The first collections will drop in September 2013, with releases including the League of Extraordinary Gentleman-style Weirding Willows, supernatural anthology Monster Massacre and the adventures of the teenage god Sharky. The first volume of the new A1 annual and the collection of Tomorrowland will release later in the year.

"Anyone who has been in the comics industry knows Dave Elliott, and his industrious and creative talent," says Nick Landau, Publisher of Titan Comics. “He has an address book like no-one in the business, a never-ending fount of ideas, and the savvy to win the best global creators over to his team. We’re delighted to be co-publishing his latest creations."

"Having worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years I wanted a partner that complemented what I do”, said A1 Publisher, Dave Elliott. “I wanted a partner who has the same aspirations for seeing this industry do what it has the potential to do. And most importantly I wanted a partner who realizes that if I do well, so do they. I know with Titan’s 30-year experience in the industry, I'm getting just that."

Each new release will also be available to read day and date on the iPhone, iPad, Web, Android and Kindle Fire.

The new co-publishing venture begins in June 2013, with two brand-new comic series, with further new collections being released through the year. Here's the information so far:

June 2013
 
A1 #1The new monthly from creators Dave Elliott, Barnaby Bagenda, Garrie Gastonny, W. H. Rauf, Rhoald Marcellius, Sakti Yuwono and Stellar Labs.

The exciting return of the award-winning graphic anthology series, this time monthly in a new format. It features three great ongoing strips: Weirding Willows, in which the worlds of Wonderland, OZ, Neverland, Mars, Pelucidar and Elysium clash in the little English town of Willow Weir; Odyssey, An immortal superhero out of place and time finds himself in the middle of a war for mankind between the Angels and the Demons; and Carpe Diem, about the World's seven greatest assassins, one for each day of the week.  Their leader is always a Sir Monday, but the rest of the team always hate Mondays...

• Retailers can order A1 #1 from the February 2013 edition of Diamond PREVIEWS.

July 2013

Tomorrowland
Writer: Paul Jenkins Artist: Stellar Labs (DC Comics, Marvel Comics, IDW Comics, Image Comics, Top Cow comics)

Yesterday is History. Today is a Gift. Tomorrow is a Mystery.

There are two worlds – the world we see, and the one we sense. The world we see is a harsh place: divided by war and political extremism, religious fundamentalism and the pursuit of money. The world we sense is the one that hides in plain sight: you see it in your peripheral vision; moving, vibrant. It’s a world where art, music and science intertwine, where the written word is a powerful tool of creation.

In these two worlds, we are all two people: one connected to destruction and one connected to creation. That is the way of the universe. But what we don’t know is that creation and destruction wage an eternal war for the energy we carry inside us.

And it is a war that we are rapidly losing…

 • Retailers can order Tomorrowland #1 from the April 2013 edition of Diamond PREVIEWS.

September 2013

Weirding Willows
Writer: Dave Elliott Artist: Barnaby Bagenda, Sami Basri, Sakti Yuwono & Jessica Kholinne

The worlds of Earth, Wonderland, OZ, Neverland, Mars, Pelucidar and Elysium collide like never before. Weirding Willows is a thrilling, emotional rollercoaster of the imagination, across space, time and not so parallel dimensions!

Monster Massacre Volume 1

 From amazing creators, like Alan Moore, Dave Dorman, Mark A. Nelson , Dave Wilkins, Tom Raney, Ron Marz, Doug Braithwaite, Michael Gilbert and many more…

From all around the world, the greatest comic talents are given full and free rein to explore the universe, to seek out new life and new civilizations… to boldly go where no one would dare let them go before!

No matter your tastes in science fiction and fantasy, you will find something here to love.

Sharky
Writer: Dave Elliott Artist: Alex Horley (DC Comics, Dark Horse, Image Comics)

SHARKY is the Earthbound son of ODIN and the grandson of ZEUS – and he just hit puberty!

October 2013

A1 (Annual)

From amazing creators, like Matt Wagner, Dave Johnson, Rufus Dayglo, Dave Dorman, Mark A. Nelson, Jim Steranko, D’israeli, Garry Leach and many more…

Monster Massacre Volume 2

From amazing creators, like Stanley Artgerm Lau, Tom Raney, Dave Wilkins, Alex Horley, Dave Dorman, Mark A. Nelson, Sami Basri, Toby Cypress and many more…

December 2013

Tomorrowland (Collection)
Writer: Paul Jenkins Artist: Stellar Labs (DC Comics, Marvel Comics, IDW Comics, Image Comics, Top Cow comics)

• To keep up-to-date with news on all these new series and future releases from Titan Comics, visit www.titan-comics.com or join us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/comicstitan) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/comicstitan).

• Retailers can keep up to date with ordering details and incentives by signing up to Titan’s retail newsletter, here or follow @TitanRetail on Twitter.