Responding to overwhelming fan and retailer support for
their wildly successful comic book horror franchise, Avatar Press announces
today the launch of a new, ongoing CROSSED comic book series on March 14, 2012,
with a bi-weekly release schedule and its first story arc reuniting the
creative team of superstar writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Punisher) and
original series artist Jacen Burrows (NEONOMICON). Concurrent story arcs will
be spearheaded by well-established comic book writers such as Jamie Delano (Hellblazer)
and David Lapham (Stray Bullets). The worldwide release of CROSSED: BADLANDS
will be marked by a special “C-Day” in-store event for comic shop retailers,
designed to maximize comic fan awareness and drive sales for area retailers.
Since its debut miniseries in 2008, CROSSED has captured
the attention of comic book fans across the world with the high tension and
visceral horror of its premise: in moments, a viral contagion spread over the
face of the Earth, turning much of the populace into sadistically evil
psychopaths. The CROSSED: BADLANDS series will present tales from all over the
globe, with each story arc provided by a different creative team. Beginning
with issue #1, Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows relate a story of a young Englishman,
scrambling to avoid roving bands of the “Crossed,” while simultaneously dealing
with the traumatic death of his wife.
The return of Ennis and Burrows to the CROSSED universe
has been one long demanded by readers. Regarding his return to script the new
CROSSED: BADLANDS series, Ennis says, “It feels cold and bleak and bad and
dark, which is exactly how I hoped it would. You don’t write CROSSED with the
sun shining in your heart; you write it around midwinter, watching the long
night devour the feeble day.”
“The horror genre has been through a lot as it has gotten
more popular in the mainstream. It’s been abused and defanged by charlatans out
for a quick buck, those who make one-dimensional, generic, formulaic product,”
says Burrows. “With CROSSED, we want to do real horror that pushes the envelope
so we can explore the limits of the human condition. It isn’t about violence so
much as showing the stakes the characters are facing, and it is our willingness
to go to that edge that makes the world so affecting.”
To promote the launch of CROSSED: BADLANDS, Avatar Press
is working with Diamond Comic Distributors and retailers in the United States,
Canada, and the United Kingdom to celebrate “C-Day,” an in-store event meant to
expand readership and drive sales for comic shops. C-Day Survival Kits will be
available to retailers, containing promotional goods including posters, counter
displays, temporary tattoos, buttons, posters, masks, and rare Bonus Edition
comics. As a tool for retailers, Avatar Press will simultaneously release the
CROSSED: GET INFECTED C-DAY EDITION comic book, a special reissue of the
first-ever CROSSED story that serves as a perfect introduction to the entire
series.
As with many of their comic books, Avatar Press will
offer several different cover editions of each CROSSED: BADLANDS issue,
providing fans with the freedom of choice for which graphic, visceral images
they want to collect.
CROSSED: BADLANDS #1 Regular Edition
$3.99 SRP, Diamond Item Code: JAN120877
CROSSED: BADLANDS #1 Torture Edition
$3.99 SRP, Diamond Item Code: JAN120878
CROSSED: BADLANDS #1 Wraparound Edition
$3.99 SRP, Diamond Item Code: JAN120879
CROSSED: BADLANDS #2 Regular Edition
$3.99 SRP, Diamond Item Code: JAN120883
CROSSED: BADLANDS #2 Torture Edition
$3.99 SRP, Diamond Item Code: JAN120884
CROSSED: BADLANDS #2 Wraparound Edition
$3.99 SRP, Diamond Item Code: JAN120885