(From Dark Horse Comics press releases:)
Super-damsel in dis-dress!
Empowered returns for further misadventures as the peril-prone girl-wonder struggles with life on the super-heroic C-list! Clad ¬– or unclad, as fate would too often have it – in her embarrassingly revealing and maddeningly unreliable super-suit, she fights a never ending battle against overly sensitive super-villains, irrationally envious super-heroines, and her own body-image issues! Meanwhile, her boyfriend, Thugboy, plays with fire when he foolhardily attempts to compliment his profoundly insecure sweetheart on the awe-inspiring power of her . . . well, booty. And her often-inebriated gal-pal, Ninjette, pursues a drunken and ultimately disastrous mission to acquire Empowered some respect—by force if necessary! All this, plus crossword-obsessed goons, speech-impaired super-beasts, “Ninjas Gone Wild,” and even a few self-help hints from nigh-omnipotent cosmic overlords!
Writer/artist Adam Warren adds: “No, wait, this press release needs more exclamation points! Also in this volume: Emp goes undercover as the less-than-subtle, glasses-and-garters-clad ‘Sexy Librarian!’ Her clingy super-suit not only asphyxiates a bad guy, but also gets its House on and diagnoses a lethal illness—and gets used as a prophylactic, to boot! Ninjette reveals the two most exotic arts of the ninja: namely, ‘cosplay’ and videogame reviewing! Thugboy faces off against an allegedly magical sock monkey! Supervillains and hapless minions get the crap kicked outta them! It’s all here, folks!”
Adam Warren first displayed his aptitude for drawing the female form with the 1988 release of the Dirty Pair comics series, the original “Original English-Language Manga.” Empowered takes his signature bootylicious, manga-meets-pin-up style and gives it additional depth and texture by skipping the inks and sourcing directly from original pencil drawings. As a writer, Warren mixes screwball humor, wild action, and sharp, complex characterization to create a graphic novel that is as well-rounded as, well
. . . you know.
“A sort of R-rated sitcom exploring geek culture from the inside out, Empowered has its cake and eats it too—it’s full of exploitative, titillating imagery, but it also features the healthiest and most realistic romantic relationship in any comic book featuring capes and masks.” —J. Caleb Mozzocco, Las Vegas Weekly
Dark Horse Comics is proud to announce the release of Empowered Volume 2, the much anticipated follow-up to the first Empowered graphic novel that sold through its first printing before it even hit the shelves. Empowered Volume 2 will be available in retail shops everywhere on September 19, 2007. Get a copy (and quick this time) for just $14.95.
Lenore, the Cute Little BIG Dead Girl
Dark Horse proudly announces a vinyl rendition of Roman Dirge’s Lenore that would make Poe proud!
The Cute Little Dead Girl gets BIG in 2008 when Dark Horse Deluxe releases an 8” vinyl figure that will surely melt little black hearts everywhere. Lenore is the brainchild of artist/magician/Eisner-nominated comics creator Roman Dirge. Named after a sonnet to a dead girl by literary luminary Edgar Allan Poe, Lenore has been celebrated as the “it’ girl for the doom generation since just before the turn of the new millennium. She has been featured in her own best-selling comics and graphic novel series (Slave Labor Graphics), and a line of merchandise, including a Zippo lighter, PVC set, journal, and stationery set all by Dark Horse Deluxe. Dark Horse is planning to release a second Lenore PVC set in spring of 2008.
“I think this is the best Lenore toy ever!” Roman Dirge remarked as the prototype was displayed for the first time at the recent Comic-Con International in San Diego; “I really like it!”
The Lenore vinyl figure and the new Lenore PVC set will be spreading their dark cheer in retail establishments starting February 6, 2008—just in time for Valentine’s Day! Lenore comes in a full color window box with a retail price of just $24.99. The PVC set will retail for $19.99, and will feature Lenore in her bunny suit, Taxidermy, and Spam Witch!
Acclaimed creators Ron Marz and Luke Ross reunite for the next volume of their historical epic:
Samurai Heaven and Earth Volume II
The samurai Shiro followed his kidnapped love, Lady Yoshiko, across eighteenth-century Europe and Asia, only to have her slip through his fingers in the fabulous halls of Versailles, where she was stolen away by a villainous Spanish nobleman. Now Shiro’s steadfast pursuit leads him across the Mediterranean, to the sands of fabled Egypt, where Yoshiko has been made a prized trophy in a desert warlord’s harem. With the glorious ruins of ancient Egypt as a backdrop, Shiro will make a final stand, and be reunited with Yoshiko no matter the cost . . .
“I think Luke and I were initially excited about taking the story into the desert because of the visual possibilities. A samurai among the Egyptian ruins is really a striking image,” Marz said “but as we got into it, the setting provided just a wealth of great story material. The story took us where it wanted to go, and Luke and I just held on for the ride.”
Samurai Heaven and Earth Volume II is now collected in a trade paperback, available through Dark Horse on October 10, 2007 at a retail price of $14.95.
The Scream—It’s Not Just All in Your Head
Dark Horse Comics brings you another Mike Richardson creation of action, adventure, and suspense that will have you chomping at the bit for the next issue. Scripted by Peter David, The Scream #1 promises to be chock-full of paranoia and suspicion. Bart Sears, Randy Elliott, and Lucas Marangon team up to bring The Scream’s images to life in a way that will have you questioning the little voices inside your own head.
Danny Duncan’s life is a mess. His job is mind-numbingly boring, his elderly father is slipping into senility, and since Danny got out of the Belle Foux treatment facility people have been saying he’s crazy. On top of all that, odd things have started to happen around Danny. People are behaving strangely around him, as if they’re reacting to his thoughts and daydreams. What is this strange phenomenon, and how is it tied to Danny’s recent stay at Belle Foux?
“The Scream is a throwback to a time when superheroes were more fun and less grim. It owes more to the early Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Spider-Man than it does to the contemporary comics scene,” said Mike Richardson.
“Peter David, Bart Sears, and Randy Elliott have all brought their A-game to The Scream,” says Dave Land. “This is definitely a series that their fans won’t want to miss.”
The Scream #1 is due to be released November 21, 2007 at $2.99 per issue.
