Creators from CHEW and THE MAXX see that
the Creative Revolution does indeed start with AfterShock!
After an explosive 2016 which saw top-named creators sign on with the label and featured hit debuts one after another, AfterShock Comics has no intentions of slowing down in 2017 with their latest move. This morning, the indie publisher announced that acclaimed writer John Layman (Chew) and veteran artist Sam Kieth (creator of The Maxx and co-creator of The Sandman) have collaborated to bring their fantasy story ‘Eleanor & the Egret’ to AfterShock’s ever-expanding stable of titles.
The creative collaborators who paired for Dark Horse’s Aliens: Inhuman Condition were recently interviewed exclusively by IGN to discuss this new project. In describing the type of comic you can expect with AfterShock’s planned launch this April, it seems as it doesn’t settle within a specific genre and “fantasy” might not truly capture the essence of the book. According to Layman, “…it’s fantasy in the sense “s*** ain’t real,” but here’s a news flash… Spider-Man ain’t real either. I’d call Eleanor & the Egret of a surrealist fable, or even a surrealist romance.”
For the artistic style of ‘Eleanor,’ Kieth explains how he’s using this opportunity to pay tribute to European comics, “…it’s a love letter to Moebius, Liberatore, Milo Manara, all of who effortlessly shifted between a charming simplicity vs. stark realism.”
ELEANOR & THE EGRET #1
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Sam Kieth
Colorist: Ronda Pattison
Cover by: Sam Kieth
Item Code: FEB171092
$3.99 / 32 pages / Color / On-sale April 5th
A slightly surreal tale of an art thief and her sidekick, a talking egret who gets just a bit bigger after each successful caper, as they embark on a escalating series of daring thefts of world-famous paintings, and dodge pursuers in an increasingly weirdly dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.
So what was it about AfterShock Comics that made the Eisner Award-winning writer bring this story, what he dubs “a psychological palette cleanser” (from his run on CHEW), to this publisher without hesitation?
“As far as I’m concerned, Mike Marts is the very best editor in comics, and a great guy too, so I’m always looking for opportunities to work with him. When he landed at AfterShock I knew very quickly it would be a company that would produce excellent comics –and they are!—so I jumped at the chance to work with them. I’m proud to be part of the AfterShock family, and grateful they are getting behind Sam and I for this very unique and off-kilter book. I would describe Eleanor & the Egret as a fable, and a surrealist romance, but it’s probably more easily described as something NOT easily describable. It’s a melding of two unique voices to comics. It’s also just an excuse for me to give Sam cool stuff to draw, and, in that, he’s exceeding all expectations—some of the pages he’s turning in are absolutely breathtaking.”
To hear more of what John Layman and Sam Kieth had to say regarding ‘Eleanor & The Egret’ and collaborating with each other, check out the rest of the interview at IGN.
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