Dark Horse Comic Con Preview Night Announcements

Dark Horse Comic Con Preview Night Announcements:

The quest for true love continues in an all-new Samurai: Heaven and Earth II series!

Returning for a sequel to last year's acclaimed series, Ron Marz and artist Luke Ross continue the story of Shiro, his lost love Yoshiko, and the distance that only makes them closer. In this series, Shiro chases Yoshiko across Western Europe, through the Mediterranean Sea and finally to the sands of Egypt. But will they be reunited again?

"Ron and Luke really delivered with the first series and they're upping the ante this time around," Dave Land, editor of the series, says. "Besides delivering a first rate adventure story Ron and Luke have covered that hard-to-fill niche for people who want to see various historical figures get sliced up by samurai swords. It truly is a feat of epic proportions."

Samurai: Heaven and Earth II features story by Ron Marz and art by Luke Ross.

Strange to the max! Maxwell Strangewell arrives at Dark Horse.

Anna Gilmour's life takes a turn for the weird the day Max, an alien with amnesia, falls from the sky and into her life. Like a cosmic alarm clock ticking a countdown to oblivion, Max's arrival on Earth sets an intergalactic struggle into motion. Alien empires want to control him. Space pirates want to sell him. The Man in the Moon wants to kill him . . . and Anna just wants to help him.

A galactic free-for-all is about to go down and Earth is ground zero. Can the universe survive megalomaniacal alien accountants, a psychotic F.B.I. agent, transcendental Tibetan monks, foretold prophecies, time travel, and what could possibly be the meaning of life? Pack your bags, hold the phones, and buckle up tight. It's the end of the world as we know it... but don't worry, everything's under control.

"This is a really fun read," said Maxwell Strangewell editor Dave Land. "If you liked Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy then this story is for you!"

Maxwell Strangewell features art and story by the Fillbach Brothers and will arrive on sale in 2007.

Ron Marz delivers urban robot tales in Pantheon City!

Ron Marz, the brains behind Green Lantern vs. Aliens, the Batman/Tarzan series and, most recently, Samurai: Heaven and Earth, brings an all-new story of life in the first machine-made civilization in Pantheon City.

Pantheon City follows the story of Sam, a smart young girl looking for a fresh start, who finds herself in danger within minutes of her arrival in Pantheon City. Through the series, Marz weaves a riveting story of corruption, power and survival in the strange, mechanical city.

"I've always dreamed of living in a city built by robots. It was only recently that I found out that that was something that wasn't going to happen," Dave Land, editor of Pantheon City, says. "I think a lot of people are gonna be blown away by Pantheon City and I wouldn't be surprised if there's an outcry for robot cities to be built all over the world. Perhaps my dream WILL come true!"

Pantheon City features story by Ron Marz and art by Clement Sauve.

Shift into excitement with Gear School!

In the future, Earth's dreams of empire have brought them into conflict with a mysterious and warlike alien race. To fight these aliens, humanity has created giant fighting machines called Gear.

Being a Gear driver is the dream of most of society. But drivers aren't born, they are made—training at elite military academies begins at a young age. The most prestigious school, The E. D. Swinton Academy, known to its teachers and students as Gear School, is exacting, rigorous, and unforgiving. Into this harsh world comes Teresa Gottlieb, a thirteen-year-old prodigy from an old military family. At Gear School she finds all of the travails/challenges/tribulations of any middleschooler—mountains of homework, byzantine social cliques, and the opposite sex—but she also has to contend with crazed military instructors, dangerous equipment, and imminent alien attack!

If she can survive her first week at Gear School, Teresa may just become humanity's best chance at survival . . .

"Gear School is an idea that has been kicking around in my head for a while, so I'm happy to finally have the chance to do it," said creator Adam Gallardo. "It combines two of my favorite things—teen angst and giant fighting robots! What's not to love? Then there's Núria Peris's awesome robot designs and beautiful illustrations. To sweeten the deal, I get to work with Dave Land and Dark Horse Comics again and that makes Gear School a dream project."

Gear School features story by Adam Gallardo and art by Núria Peris and will arrive in 2007.

Superhero entertainment reaches a new low in the all-new Empowered!

Who says superheroes need to have self-esteem? In this all-new series of graphic novels, "Empowered" is a spandex-wrapped supergirl with body-image insecurities, unreliable powers, and a horrendously lame reputation within the superhuman community. Despite the flaws of her cruelly revealing and often-defective "supersuit," Empowered bravely stumbles her way through the ordeals of her C-list superheroic life with the help of her "thugalicious" boyfriend and hard-drinking, female-ninja best friend.

Adam Warren, writer and artist of the English-language Dirty Pair comics, brings you this all-new comic that wipes away every rule of the superhero genre!

"Adam Warren basically invented Original English-Language manga, and he's still the best," Chris Warner, editor of Empowered, says. "Empowered is Adam at his absolute wildest, and that's saying something. Keep your other superhero books away from Empowered, unless you want to collect a pile of ashes and melted mylar."

Empowered features art and story by Adam Warren and will arrive on sale in 2007.