Dynamite proudly announces the upcoming comic book series
Control, by Andy Diggle, Angela Cruickshank, and Ben Oliver. The latest title in Dynamite's stable of
hard-hitting crime comics, Control can be described as an intense police
procedural in a politically-charged setting, akin to some of primetime
television's most watched programming.
The husband-and-wife team of Diggle and Cruickshank will share the
writing chores for the new series, while Ben Oliver joins Control as his first
project with Dynamite. Control is slated
for release in early 2014.
In Control, police detective Kate Burnham finds herself
embroiled in a conspiracy that reaches to the upper echelons of the Washington,
D.C. power elite. Powerful forces, both
legal and criminal, apply pressure to cover up the truth. But they've underestimated Kate if they think
she's going to fold under the pressure.
Control is a police procedural that examines the top-down application of
power by vested interests, from Senator down to street cop, and from the upper
echelons of a criminal empire down to the victims at the bottom of the food
chain.
Andy Diggle, whose work on Control follows the critical
success of his prior Dynamite Crime Line title Uncanny (in addition to his work
on such fan-favorite titles as Green Arrow: Year One, Daredevil, Hellblazer,
Thunderbolts, and The Losers), provided insight into the workings behind
Control's creation: "Police
procedurals are massive in film, television, and fiction, but they've always
been strangely under-represented in comics.
Even the very best of them, like Gotham Central, Powers, and Chew, often
have an element of the weird, the supernatural, or the downright spandexy. With Control, we wanted to write a 100%
police procedural, the kind of smart, character-driven, real-world crime drama
that rules on TV. It's about sex, power,
and systems of control... and how the little guys have to game a system that's
rigged against them. If you like The
Wire, Damages, State of Play, or Homeland, then hopefully Control will be just
the comic you've been waiting for!"
"Power is all about perception," says Angela
Cruickshank. "I love that moment in
The Sopranos when Tony agonizes about what they're going to do when their
teenage daughter realizes they have absolutely zero power over her. Wealth, looks, friends in high places; these
are all great assets for the average power player, but the real key to success
is fear. There's a popular theory, often
trotted out by the media, that 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing
to fear.' Well, who can honestly say
that they have nothing to hide? No
skeletons in the closet. No moment of
regret. No dark little desire, that if
only we thought they could get away with it... We wanted to explore the way
that control pushes down from the privileged and the powerful and what happens
when the people at the bottom start pushing back."
Artist Ben Oliver says, "Andy Diggle gave me my
first professional comics work thirteen years ago when he was then-editor of
2000AD. We worked together just once in
the intervening years when I briefly filled in on a couple of issues of The
Losers. I'm really looking forward to
working with Andy, Angela, and Dynamite on Control, and collaborating on a
fantastic new story."
Dynamite's CEO and Publisher, Nick Barrucci, says,
"During our initial discussions, Andy suggested that Angela be part of the
Control creative process and join him as co-writer. I was surprised at the request, but Andy
immediately sold me on the fact that Control would be one of the most intense
books he'd ever worked on, and having a collaborator would allow greater
research and more compelling stories.
It's clear that this husband-and-wife team absolutely love the genre,
and I'd almost imagine that they plant themselves together, surrounded by
books, televisions, and computers, on a nightly basis, pouring through
everything and watching one cop drama after another! At the end of the day, the collaboration will
create an even better comic series. I
can't wait to see the fruits of their labors in print!"
Joseph Rybandt, Senior Editor of Dynamite Entertainment,
summarizes the addition of Control to their publishing line succinctly: "More gritty and grounded comics from
Andy Diggle? Yes, please!"
Control will be solicited in early 2014 via Diamond Comic
Distributors' Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the
comic book specialty market. In addition
to availability as a printed comic in comic book shops and hobby specialty
store, Control will be available for individual customer purchase through
digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.