Following the Eisner-award winning Terry and the Pirates, IDW’s Library of American Comics will present Alex Raymond’s modernist classic Rip Kirby in a definitive five-volume archival hardcover series.
Edited and designed by Dean Mullaney, Rip Kirby will contain every daily from the strip’s inception in 1946 through Alex Raymond’s tragic death in 1956. “It’s going to look gorgeous,” Mullaney says. “We are reproducing the strips from pristine syndicate proofs that will allow readers to see, for the first time, the full luxurious detail of Raymond’s brushwork.”
Rip Kirby was the first hip and cool detective in newspaper comics. Created by Alex Raymond when he was deactivated from the Marines after World War II, it was a fresh approach to the genre, a departure from the prevailing hard-boiled style of detective fiction. Rip Kirby was urbane and cerebral, and used scientific methods as often as he used his fists when solving crimes and mysteries. But there was still plenty of action — Kirby was an All-American athlete and decorated war hero.
Co-written with Ward Greene, Rip Kirby often addressed contemporary issues, including trafficking in black market babies and the attempt to limit the proliferation of atomic and biological weapons. The supporting cast was comprised of Rip’s valet and assistant, Desmond, and plenty of breathtaking women, particularly Rip’s girlfriend, Honey Dorian, and the raven-haired and aptly-named Pagan Lee. Highly conscious of the fashions of the day, Raymond brought post-war and early-50s chic and fashion to the comics page, dressing his female characters in ultra-chic clothes obviously inspired by Dior’s “New Look.”
The strip also signified a grand departure, both thematically and artistically, from Raymond’s first major creation, Flash Gordon. With Rip Kirby, Raymond wedded his incomparable brushwork to a sweeping approach to storytelling and camera movement that was missing in the more static Flash. He promulgated a new art style — one of cinematic photo-realism — that influenced such artists to follow as Stan Drake, Leonard Starr, Al Williamson, and Neal Adams.
Biographical and historic essays will be written by Brian Walker, author of the best-selling Comics Before 1945 and Comics After 1945. The first volume will have an introduction by Raymond biographer and authority Tom Roberts.
Skate Farm, Vol. 1
Barzak (w & a)
When a shadowy government agency pursues its ceaseless war with Ali Baba and The Dirty Deeds to Southern California, they bring with them pain and suffering for the locals. But they also bring skateboards: skateboards with mysterious and unbelieveable abilities. With these boards, a troubled teen, a pro skater, a malcontent and an overachiever mbark on a quest to rid the world of this evil.
TPB • B&W • $9.99 • 194 Pages • 5.71” x 8.5” • 978-1-60010-408-4
"In this globe-trotting, post-Judgment Day comic prequel to the forthcoming movie starring Christian Bale, the dwindling human resistance in 2018 struggles to mount a life-or-death final offensive that will hopefully defeat the
Terminators. As various cells around the world play their respective parts, the robotic killers make a deadly counter-strike, unveiling the latest models that look more human than ever before. Naraghi's precision-paced plot kept me hooked throughout, while avoiding the usual Terminator burnout by focusing on a new cast of characters, led by the hard-nosed Commander Elena Maric, who, we learn via flashback, has feelings for the present-day but presently married John Connor. Meanwhile, Robinson's razor-sharp pencils make for cinematic visuals that do this film-to-comic franchise justice. The only thing missing is a Governator cameo!"
"Locke & Key (both Head Games and the preceding chapter, Welcome to Lovecraft) is a wonderful exception. It's the whole package--a gripping story with interesting characters, beautiful art and single issues that tie together, but more often than not can stand on their own."
"Even as he expounds on past events, the author never slaps his mythology across the reader's face. He skillfully, yet succinctly, weaves it into a compelling narrative, and once again, this is where Locke and Key truly shines."
IDW: The First Decade HC
Ted Adams, Peter David, Joe Hill, Kris Oprisko, Chris Ryall, Ben Templesmith (w) • Gabriel Rodriguez, Ben Templesmith, Ashley Wood, JK Woodward (a)
Celebarating IDW’s first 10 years, this comprehensive look at IDW is presented as a two-volume hardcover set with slipcase.
Volume One includes an oral history of the company written by co-founders Ted Adams and Kris Oprisko and IDW’s Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall that includes interviews with many major creators who have worked at IDW, including: Marc Andreyko, John Byrne, Scott Ciencen, Max Allan Collins, Simon Furman, Alex Garner, Mike Gold, Joe Hill, Brian Lynch, Jeff Mariotte, Dean Mullaney, Steve Niles, Gabriel Rodriguez, Ben Templesmith, Ashley Wood, and more, and will include a tip-in plate signed by IDW’s founders, Ryall, Hill, Niles, Templesmith, Wood, and Woodward.
Volume Two features every single cover published by IDW through December 2008. Over 2000 covers by some of the biggest names in comics including Clive Barker, Tim Bradstreet, John Byrne, J. Scott Campbell, John Cassaday, Richard Corben, Kieron Dwyer, Tommy Lee Edwards, Don Figueroa, Alex Garner, Mike Grell, Tony Harris, Dave Johnson, Sam Kieth, Igor Kordey, Ted McKeever, David Messina, Alex Milne, Scott Morse, Paul Pope, Gabriel Rodriguez, Richard Sala, Eric Shanower, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ken Steacy, Ben Templesmith, Billy Tucci, Ashley Wood, JK Woodward, Bernie Wrightson, and many more.
Also includes an all-new IDW: The First Decade comic book with all-new 5-page stories, including:
-- Fallen Angel by Peter David and JK Woodward
-- Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
-- Popbot by Ashley Wood
-- Wormwood, Gentleman Corpse by Ben Templesmith
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