CO-CREATORS KEVIN EASTMAN—OF TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES—
& DAVID AVALLONE TEAM WITH ARTISTS BEN BISHOP & TROY LITTLE
TO LAUNCH NEW SERIES DRAWING BLOOD THIS APRIL!
The legendary Kevin Eastman—co-creator of the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and former publisher of the popular Heavy Metal magazine—teams up with writer David Avallone (Elvira, Batwheels), artists Ben Bishop (The Aggregate, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin), and Troy Little (Rick and Morty, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) for the upcoming Drawing Blood. This 12-issue comic book maxi-series, originally launched as a successful Kickstarter, will reach a larger audience in April and be published by Image Comics.
“The completely fictional true stories of Shane ‘Books’ Bookman sums it up the best,” said Eastman. “Set squarely in our collective world of Comics, part autobiographical, part tall tails and legends, I wanted a fictional character we could really put through the paces. Drawing Blood is all that and a basket of kittens…”
When you create a global franchise before you turn twenty…what happens next? Drawing Blood readers will follow the jaw-dropping journey of Shane Bookman—a cartoonist whose real life has become more absurd and action-packed than any comic book story he could dream up!
Once upon a time, Bookman co-created The Radically Rearranged Ronin Ragdolls: a gritty, funny indie comic that became a billion dollar global franchise. Now, years later, the partnership dissolved, the corporate buy-out all spent, Books is struggling to recover from the hit-and-run driver called early success… and looking for the will and the joy to create something new again.
This “true fictional story” will look into the roller coaster life of a successful comics creator.
“When Kevin told me his idea for the project that became Drawing Blood, I immediately understood three things: it was something that hadn’t really been done before in comics, it could be really amazing… and that I wanted to write it with him,” stated Avallone. “He kindly brought me on as co-creator, and we’ve had a blast turning all the crazy stories of a life in comics into this funny, entertaining, and heartbreaking saga of survival and redemption in show business.”
“Drawing Blood truly is a story unlike any other…” said Bishop. “It’s not only a glimpse behind the scenes at the world of making comics, and what life might be like decades after co-creating one of the world’s biggest franchises—but a look inside the tormented mind of the comic’s creator—as he searches to reconnect with that part of himself who once drew pictures on his bedroom floor with his brother and dreamed of one day making comic books for real. We all put our hearts and souls into this book and it’s so incredibly special to each of us. I know people are going to be able to feel that when they’re reading. Get ready…”
“The Mirage Studios Turtles had a massive impact on me wanting to become a comic creator so there’s a lot of full circle happening for me with Drawing Blood and the Ragdolls,” said Little. “Being able to collaborate with this team to create and expand a meta-fiction where I get to draw cats with ninja weapons based on a hit property that never existed, creating a sort of Mandela effect… I mean, you all remember the cartoon series from the ’90s, right? Those cats were badass!”
PREVIEW:
Drawing Blood #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, April 24:
- Cover A – Lunar Code 0224IM203
- Cover B – Lunar Code 0224IM204
- Cover C – Lunar Code 0224IM205
Drawing Blood will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play. Follow Drawing Blood online on Facebook & Instagram!
ABOUT KEVIN EASTMAN:
Born in Portland, Maine in 1962 Kevin Eastman began drawing at a very young age. copying children’s books and reading comics. Inspired by master storyteller Jack Kirby and later by underground comic pioneers and self-publishing creators like Richard Corben, following in their footsteps became an obsession. In 1982, while trying to sell some of his illustrations to local fanzines, he met Peter Laird in Northampton, Massachusetts, and shortly thereafter Mirage Studios was formed. A year later in the middle of a late-night drawing session, Eastman doodled a new character he dubbed a “Ninja Turtle” to make Laird laugh—several sillier sketches and a final drawing of four characters later Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were born. Self-published in May of 1984, the original comic evolved into a global success and forty years later remains popular with fans of the comics, toys, TV series, and animated films. When not having way too much fun writing and drawing on a variety of TMNT projects, new creator owned projects such as Drawing Blood and The Radically Rearranged Ronin Ragdolls, to name a few, are taking center stage. Kevin Eastman currently resides in California with his wonderful wife Courtney, awesome son Shane and two really bad kitties.
For complete details, keep up with Kevin Eastman at: www.KevinEastmanStudios.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
ABOUT DAVID AVALLONE:
David Avallone is a veteran writer and filmmaker, currently writing WB Animation’s Batwheels, and the Elvira Meets HP Lovecraft comics series. He hosts two podcasts, including the award-winning The Writers Block. His comics work includes many iconic characters, and Drawing Blood, co-created with TMNT comics legend Kevin Eastman. He lives in Hollywood, California with his delightful wife Augusta and three cats who may or may not be secretly radically rearranged.
Follow David Avallone online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and his website.
ABOUT BEN BISHOP:
Ben Bishop is a comic creator from Maine, most recently known for his work on New York Times Best Seller, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin—and the sequel/prequel, The Lost Years. Alongside the Turtles, Ben’s been busy working away on his creator owned book, The Aggregate, the world’s first Split Decision Comic and Volume 2 of Drawing Blood.
In addition to all this, Ben’s had the opportunity to work on some other childhood favorites and legendary licenses such as Lego, Ghostbusters, Batman, Transformers, G.I, Joe, Power Rangers, Bloodshot, Savage Dragon, Canto, and more!.
Follow Ben Bishop online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and his website.
ABOUT TROY LITTLE:
Troy Little is a comic artist, writer and publisher from Prince Edward Island, Canada. His works include The Powerpuff Girls, Rick & Morty, adapting Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas as well as his creator owned books Chiaroscuro, the Angora Napkin trilogy and Butterfly House (with his wife Brenda Hickey). Troy has been nominated four times for the Eisner Awards as well as the Harvey, Ringo, Doug Wright and Sequential Awards.
Follow Troy Little online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and his more on his Linktree.
ABOUT IMAGE COMICS:
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a group of bestselling artists and has gone on to become the second largest comics publisher in the United States. The company currently has six individuals on the Board of Directors: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino, and Eric Stephenson. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, style, and format imaginable. Its titles run the gamut of science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime, humor, and are created by the top artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.
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