PR and Marketing Coordinator Sarah deLaine chaired the Image Comics panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2011, which featured a rockstar roster of creators: Tim Seeley, creator of Hack/Slash and new writer of Witchblade for Top Cow, John Layman, writer of Chew, David Baxter, co-writer of Marksman, Nick Spencer, writer of Morning Glories and the upcoming Thief of Thieves, Scott Snyder, writer of American Vampire and Severed, and Ben McCool, writer of Memoir and Pigs. After congratulating Layman and Spencer for their multiple Eisner Award nominations this year, deLaine kicked off the panel with an overview of a bunch of Image's upcoming titles, including the surprise return of MacGyver to popular culture. Yes: that MacGyver.On Hack/Slash:

Tim Seeley's horror/action comic is still going strong. He has a buddy, Adam Green, who wrote, produced, and directed a film called Hatchet. It features a slasher called Victor Crowley whose characteristic weapon is (wait for it) a hatchet. The film series is super violent, exploitative horror, the sort of thing that you watch with a group of people who are in love with gore. Seeley is excited about combining his property with his friend's, so Hack/Slash Annual #3, written by Benito Cereno and drawn by Ariel Zucker Brull, will be Hatchet/Slash. Victor meets Cassie and things get bloody.


On Chew:

John Layman and Rob Guillory's story of a world where chickens are illegal and the FDA is the most powerful law enforcement agency in the land is among Image's most beloved books. There will be a second Chew Omnivore Edition, a hardcover volume collecting several issues of the series, in September. Layman said that he and Rob Guillory have wrapped up the first third of the series and that they're about ten issues from kicking off the second half. Issue #20 features a cult of egg-worshipers and is over-sized despite being just $2.99. Mason Savoy, one of the major figures from the book, ends up going on a trip and experiences the secrets of the universe. This is told via (possibly wordless) double page spreads featuring Savoy super-imposed over cosmic and mystical imagery.

Layman says that Chew #23, featuring a rotting baseball player in a pastiche of the old Major League Chew bubblegum wrappers, is his favorite cover since issue #13. As a special bonus, the back cover is a black and white and not-rotted version of the front cover. Finally, there will be a Chew spinoff called Secret Agent Poyo, starring Poyo the fighting chicken.








On Marksman:

Marksman just came out on Wednesday and is co-created by David Baxter, a screenwriter who was intrigued by comics because he could build a world and do whatever he wanted in a story. Marksman is set in the relatively near-future, in an America that has finally run out of oil and been splintered due to a civil war. San Diego is the place to be if you want to be safe, and Drake McCoy helps defend the city from incoming threats. The remnants of Texas, however, have come calling, and they want to take over the city.


On Nick Spencer's Morning Glories:

The third arc begins to answer questions about what the school actually is, including its purpose, location, and what's up with the insane faculty. Morning Glories Yearbook 2011 comes later this year and features a sequential recap of the first year of story by the regular, Eisner-nominated cover artist for Morning Glories, Rodin Esquejo.


On Severed:

Scott Snyder wanted to tell a story that would be a different kind of horror story. He wanted it to be a real slow burn rather than a splatterfest, so he took a distinctly psychological take when crafting the tale. It's about optimism and absolute terror. The seven-issue series begins on August 4, 2012.


On Memoir:

Nikki Cook and Ben McCool's series is pushing along. Issue #5 should be out in a month's time, and #6 follows shortly thereafter. They're hoping to have a trade paperback collection out by New York Comic-Con in October. If they can't make it in time for NYCC, they're going to aim for the end of the year.


Pigs:

McCool's first ongoing comic series, rather than limited series, is a book that he's co-writing with former Marvel editor Nate Cosby. Pigs is about a second generation KGB sleeper cell that's activated on the sly to overthrow the US government. The series will feature covers by artists like Jock, Becky Cloonan, and Amanda Conner. Nate Cosby joined the panel to reveal that Dave Gibbons is drawing the cover for Pigs #5.


On The Last of the Greats:

This series is written by Joshua Hale Fialkov of Echoes and Tumor and tells us what normal humans would do if there were supernatural beings on the planet. More specifically, we're going to find out how humans would try to ruin everything.


On Xenoholics:

Coming out in October from Shadowline is Xenoholics, written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Seth Damoose. The quote on the image that was shown read: "They are coming... to mow our lawns?" John Layman recommended the book and said that it was going to be very funny. It appears to be about aliens coming to Earth and the various high jinks that ensue.


On Danger Club:

Landry Walker and Eric Jones are fresh off of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade and their new book is aimed at a slightly different audience. It's a violent, grown-up comic about superheroes really battling. The preview image featured a bloody encounter between two heroes. This one arrives in February 2012.


On Ted McKeever's Mondo:

Ted McKeever's Mondo is going to be printed in the "golden age format," which is taller and wider than your traditional floppy comics, and arrives in early 2012.


On MacGyver: Fugitive Gauntlet

Lee David Zlotoff (creator of MacGyver), Becky Cloonan, and Tony Lee are collaborating on this new series. All we know is that it's about MacGyver and that it comes out in Summer 2012. 'nuff said, really.

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