201104021349.jpg

IDW announced a trio of impressive projects at WonderCon yesterday — but none more surprising than the news that they’ll be collecting Walt Simonson’s famed run on THOR — published by Marvel Comics, as you may recall — in a deluxe WALTER SIMONSON’S THOR: ARTIST’S EDITION — the book will be black and white but the original artwork will be scanned in color for a unique presentation. It’s the first in a SERIES of Marvel reprints by IDW.

IDW also announced a new ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series in partnership with Nickelodeon. A new CGI Turtles series is coming in 2012, and the comic is part of a move to keep the iconic characters alive for kids everywhere. Created in 1984, TMNT is definitely the first and greatest indie comics media hit.

Finally, a deluxe, two-volume slipcased “Martini Edition” of Cooke’s Parker GNs, THE HUNTER and THE OUTFIT, will be out in July with a NEW Parker story by Cooke. Make way on the shelves for this one.

Complete PR below.IDW Publishing is thrilled to announce the expansion of the company’s acclaimed Artist’s Edition series with WALTER SIMONSON’S THE MIGHTY THOR: ARTIST’S EDITION. Launching in July, this oversized, hardcover collection will present Thor 337-340, Simonson’s first classic story arc, which introduced Beta Ray Bill, and Thor 360-362, Simonson’s choice for the second arc in the book. WALTER SIMONSON’S THE MIGHTY THOR: ARTIST’S EDITION will be the first in a series of Artist’s Editions featuring legendary creators and comics from Marvel.

“I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to be able to do a book like this,” said IDW Special Projects Editor, Scott Dunbier. “Each page is shot from Walter Simonson’s original art and printed same size—really just too cool. Thanks to Marvel Entertainment for being so enthusiastic about this project from the start!”

Debuting at San Diego Comic Con, WALTER SIMONSON’S THOR: ARTIST’S EDITION leads with Thor #337, a groundbreaking issue in modern comics that introduced Beta Ray Bill and kicked off Simonson’s legendary run on this fan-favorite title. All the pages in the ARTIST’S EDITION have been scanned from Simonson’s personal original art to ensure the highest possible quality reproduction. While appearing to be in black and white, each page was scanned in color to mimic as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual original art—for instance, white-out corrections and blue pencil notations.

WALTER SIMONSON’S THOR: ARTIST’S EDITION ($100, hardcover, black and white, 176 pages, 12” x 17”) will be available in stores in July 2011. ISBN 978-1-61377-038-2.

______

At WonderCon today, IDW Publishing announced that Darwyn Cooke’s first two adapted Parker books, THE HUNTER and THE OUTFIT, will be collected in a tremendous, oversized hardcover edition, with an additional 65 pages of Cooke content. Packaged in a beautiful slipcase, The Martini Edition debuts in July and features a brand new Parker short story by Darwyn Cooke.

“The first two Parker graphic novels have been met with such overwhelming praise,” said series editor Scott Dunbier. “It’s almost been an embarrassment of riches. With this Martini Edition we’re really trying to up the bar and give the fans something extra special—I think we’ll succeed!”

Adapted from Richard Stark’s classic crime noir novel, Darwyn Cooke’s PARKER: THE HUNTER graphic novel debuted in July 2008 to instantaneous popular and critical acclaim. It made the New York Times best-seller list and won coveted Eisner and Harvey awards. The second graphic novel, THE OUTFIT, was released last year and was met with similar response, and is currently under consideration for nominations in this year’s awards season. Parker: The Martini Edition will be a very special collection in that it will also feature an expansive section of sketches and preliminaries by the artist, with commentary accompanying. Also included is a brand-new 8-page Parker story by Darwyn Cooke, unique to this volume.

The Hunter and The Outfit tell the story of Parker, Richard Stark’s classic anti-hero, as he returns to New York to settle the score with his wife and partner in crime after they betray him in a heist gone terribly wrong. After evening the field and reclaiming his prize, the Outfit decide to do some score settling of their own… and learn much too late that when you push a man like Parker, it had better be all the way to the grave.

PARKER: THE MARTINI EDITION ($75.00, partial color, 344 pages, 9”x13”) will be available comic and book stores in July 2011. ISB 978-1-60010-980-5.

______

More than 25 years after its first comic book, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to their roots with IDW Publishing. Today at WonderCon in San Francisco, IDW and Nickelodeon announced a long-term agreement to offer an all-new installment of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and graphic novels. Starting this summer, IDW’s comic series will bring the “Heroes in a Half Shell” back into action. IDW’s new comics are part of a larger initiative to bring Turtles to a new generation of fans, starting with these new storylines from the original series. Additionally, in fourth quarter 2012, Nickelodeon will premiere a new CG-animated version of the wildly popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

“Through this partnership, we’re able to introduce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to a new generation of fans, while also providing new stories for the fans who grew up enjoying these comics,” said Paula Allen, Senior Vice President, Global Publishing, Nickelodeon Consumer Products.  “These all-new comics and graphic novels based on the original series will support the overwhelming demand we’ve received from the millions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans looking to reconnect with this celebrated franchise.”

Created in 1984 by Mirage Studios founders Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles quickly went from an independently published, black and white comic to one of the most popular brands in the world. IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will kick off with an ongoing series this summer, featuring new and exciting storylines that also maintain the “turtle power” core beloved by millions of fans. In addition to the all-new series, TMNT fans will also be treated to newly remastered collections of classic Turtles comics, beginning with the original 1980s series that started this worldwide phenomenon.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of Turtles,” said Greg Goldstein, chief operating officer for IDW. “This is one of the most successful comic book franchises ever, and we look forward to exploring new territory with our ongoing series, as well as reliving all the classic adventures.”

The return of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael and the rest of the TMNT world begins this summer. In IDW’s all-new, original series, readers will follow their favorite characters on exciting adventures that explore new depths of the TMNT universe.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES comics will be available in comic stores throughout North America in Summer 2011.

1 COMMENT

  1. Kind of a bendover from them on the Parker book, and I expect better of Darwyn as well. They’ve already done 4 hardcover editions and now we have to buy another to get some additional pages? What is this, the music business?

  2. ^ Yeah that’s kind of frustrating. I think I’ll start picking up the series at the library until Cooke’s adaptations are totally complete.

  3. The Turtles return to an ongoing series awesome! Finally!!! Hope it is done right this time around, the last attempt was not so great.

  4. Isn’t it the most obvious thing in the whole world that the most interesting title IDW could possibly feature in this series would be the original art for Amazing Fantasy #15.