‘Dark Horse Presents’ New Francavilla, Arcudi, Case, Seeley and More [Preview]
On sale this week is Dark Horse Presents #11, the latest issue of Dark Horse's prestigious anthology series. Featuring no distracting advertisements, the 80-page book contains new material by such comics creators as Francesco Francavilla (introducing The Black Beetle), Mike Richardson, Tim Seeley and Victor Drujiniu (introducing The Occultist), John Arcudi and Jonathan Case (introducing The Creep), Frank J. Barbiere and Luke Radl (introducing The White Suits). Additionally, the latest issue features continuations of serials by Steve Horton and Michael Dialynas (new Amala's Blade), Carla Speed McNeil (new Finder), Steve Niles and Christopher Mitten (new Criminal Macabre), Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer (new Milk and Cheese), Andrew Vachss and Geof Darrow (new Pig) and Neal Adams (new Blood).
Read on for a eight-page preview, including covers by Francavilla and Tonci Zonjic.
The lead feature of this issue of DHP is The Black Beetle: Night Shift, written, drawn, colored and lettered by Francesco Francavilla, best known to ComicsAlliance readers for his excellent work in Batman: The Black Mirror and Marvel's Captain America and The Black Panther, not to mention the great Archie Meets Kiss covers. Francavilla has been creating Black Beetle stories on his own for many years, but DHP #11 marks the first time the handsome pulp adventure has been seen in print.
"I'm working on a 24-page story, titled 'Night Shift' that will be spread over three issues of Dark Horse Presents," said Francavilla in a press release. "I am hugely influenced by pulp stories of the '30s and '40s, and wanted to develop a series that used that influence as a jumping-off point to explore some modern storytelling with fun twists. I think this will be a great introduction to readers who are new to this character and universe, but will also be an exciting new adventure for those who've been reading the online stories over the years.
"As a huge fan of pulp and noir, working on my own characters and stories really gives me free reign to explore this world and create lots of fun scenarios and thrilling situations. The stories are definitely full of mystery and intrigue, plus I get to give The Black Beetle lots of cool and funky gadgets. 'Night Shift' promises to be full of action, excitement, danger, and double-crosses, so I am overjoyed to see this new tale in print, and hope this is the first of many more to come in Dark Horse Presents."
Dark Horse Presents #11 goes on sale this Wednesday in finer comics shops and digitally via Dark Horse Digital.