Dark Horse Comics Celebrating Twenty Years 1986-2006

Conan's grittiest and most graphic tale ever told in comics arrives with Songs of the Dead

Renowned horror and western writer Joe R. Lansdale reunites with his Jonah Hex collaborator, artist Timothy Truman, to tell the grittiest, roughest, downright meanest Conan story ever seen in comics.

This five-part series begins in the wretched wastes of Stygia, a burning, grinding stretch of desert so desolate the only thing more unforgiving are its inhabitants. There, Conan comes to the aid of an old ally, uncovers a scheme to acquire untold-of wealth, and punishes his foolish enemies most cruelly. Yet when his treasure hunt reveals an alluring spirit with long unsatisfied needs, the Cimmerian knows a gentler touch is required to win the day.

Teaming the wild, scathing wit of Lansdale with the unflinching vision of Truman, Conan and the Songs of the Dead is an unprecedented take on the grand hero of sword and sorcery—pushing one of the most brutal heroes of literature to new extremes!

Conan and the Songs of the Dead I features story by Joe R. Lansdale and art by Timothy Truman and Dave Stewart. It arrives on sale July 5 with a retail price of $2.99.

Cover Image:

Dark Horse Celebrates twenty years with a pinup comic that Features new takes on timeless characters

Eric Powell draws Star Wars, Adam Hughes draws Hellboy, and Joss Whedon makes his artistic debut—that’s just a smidge of what’s included in this 25 cent gift to all the fans who’ve supported Dark Horse Comics through our first twenty years!

Dark Horse Comics is proud to present Dark Horse Twenty Years, a collection of original art by a distinguished list of Dark Horse creators, past and present. Every page holds a different piece, each showcasing a character from the company’s history of great original and licensed properties. Instead of drawing their own creations, these jaw-dropping talents have traded characters, each offering an unexpected take on one of the icons of Dark Horse.

Legends of comics drawing the characters you’d never expect. You won’t see this much talent in the same place for another twenty years!

Dark Horse Twenty Years features art by Arthur Adams, Sergio Aragonés, Bob Burden, Paul Chadwick, Adam Hughes, Frank Miller, Tony Millionaire, Cary Nord, Eric Powell, Stan Sakai, Matt Wagner, Chris Warner, Joss Whedon, Mike Mignola, and many more! It arrives on sale July with a retail price of 25 cents.

Cover Image:

Two great number ones—acclaimed writer Brian K. Vaughan pens The Escapists #1 with a special introductory price of $1!

Wizard Top Ten and multiple Eisner Award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways) teams with critically acclaimed artists Philip Bond (Vimanarama, Vertigo Pop, Tank Girl) and Eduardo Barreto (Batman, The Long Haul) to deliver this knockout first issue from Pulitzer-winning author Michael Chabon!

Discovering his late father’s decades-spanning vault of Escapist memorabilia at the age of six, Max became a fan of the Master of Elusion almost overnight. After exhausting the extensive stash of Golden and Silver Age comics, he needed more—and started writing his own Escapist stories. Now nineteen, he’s determined to make the character a sensation once again, but where is he going to find an artist—in Cleveland? Meet Maxwell Roth and Case Weaver, latter-day versions of Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, in part one of The Escapists!

With cover art by multi-platinum superstar Frank Miller kicking off a round robin of stellar cover artists including James Jean and John Cassaday, this launch of the first Escapist miniseries can’t be missed!

"[Vaughan] turned in a script that caused grown men, or at least one grown man, to weep for joy. It is a script that well meets, and perhaps even exceeds, the expectations raised by the shadow of the parent novel . . ."

- Michael Chabon

The Escapists I features story by Brian K. Vaughan and art by Philip Bond, Eduardo Barreto, and Frank Miller. It arrives on sale July 12 with a retail price of $1.00.

Cover Image:

Mail I delivers one of Japan’s hottest up-and-coming new artists, Housui Yamazaki, in his American debut

Private detective Reiji Akiba has a theory about those awkward moments and weird coincidences we all encounter in life. They are actually encounters with the dead—their way of sending us a message. But you may not want to open such strange mail from beyond—not unless you can see the ghostly attachment, like Akiba can. And not unless you carry a gun that can kill what isn’t alive, like Akiba’s aptly named Kagutsuchi, “the tool between God and earth” . . . digging a divine grave to lay to rest the evil dead.

Volume 1 of Mail opens with a model’s photo shoot at what was a lovely riverside. However, when the negatives in the darkroom reveal more than just a pretty face, it’s time for the magazine to hire Akiba. He will soon discover the answers lie not so peacefully in the basement of a shunned house.

Mail was recently made into a live-action Japanese horror movie starring Chiaki Kuriyama—“Go-Go Yubari” from Kill Bill. Each volume comes shrink-wrapped and carries an 18+ content advisory.

Mail I features story and art by Housui Yamazaki. It arrives on sale August 16 with a retail price of $10.95.

Cover Image:

ISBN: 1-59307-566-9

Five hundred years before Columbus, barbaric Viking invasions ravaged North America—Pathfinder follows the story of one young castaway on such an expedition

Pathfinder is the story of a young Viking boy left behind as the only survivor of a shipwrecked expedition. A stranger in a strange land, the boy is raised by a tribe of American Indians—the very people the Vikings had sworn to destroy. When Vikings again storm the eastern shores, this tribe is slaughtered by another barbaric campaign. Now he wages a violent personal war to stop the Vikings’ trail of death and destruction.

Pathfinder is set to be released as a major motion picture from Twentieth Century Fox in July 2006.

Pathfinder features story by Laeta Kalogridis and art by Christopher Shy. It arrives on sale July 26 with a retail price of $19.95.

Cover Image:

ISBN: 1-59307-671-1

On the brink of reality, an organization works to keep the world safe from things that go bump in the night. . . Meet the Perhapanauts!

Where the fabric of reality has worn thin and creatures from other realms and bizarre beings from other dimensions slip through, there exists a secret organization to confront these creatures. Made up of agents that are adept at turning them back from whence they came, this organization is as bizarre as the creatures it battles. The organization is called BEDLAM. The agents are called. . . The Perhapanauts!

Now, for the first time ever, collected especially for you in this widely popular trade paperback format, the critically acclaimed, highly sought after four-issue miniseries that started it all­­­­­­—The PERHAPANAUTS! In addition, we are including the unaired, original pilot, “7 Months Earlier.” Also included are rare outtakes, character bios, pinups by some of the industry’s brightest stars, and an introduction by comics artist and reader, Mike Wieringo (Spider-Man; Tellos; Fantastic Four).

“With The Perhapanauts, Craig and I have created a team of agents charged with investigating bizarre occurrences and the appearance of strange creatures. Bigfoot, aliens, chupacabras, ghosts,” commented writer Todd Dezago. “Coincidentally, the team is also made up of some of these same strange creatures and their adventures into the unexplained, the supernatural, and the just plain creepy, are only half the story. Back at headquarters they are a very interesting mix; the chupacabra drinks blood out of juice boxes, Bigfoot is a genius, and the ghost is in denial about ever having died. Craig and I have built a long story for these guys that is full of twists and turns that will have readers guessing right up to the last panel!”

The Perhapanauts features story by Todd Dezago and art by Craig Rousseau and Rico Renzi. It arrives on sale August 23 with a retail price of $15.95.

Cover Image:

ISBN: 1-59307-607-X

Finally, a zombie story for kids! Well, not exactly. Bob Fingerman’s Recess Pieces has all the essentials; blood gore . . . and grade schoolers?

Bad things are brewing in the halls of The Ben Turpin School for K-8. When a science project goes wrong, only the prepubescent children are spared— which is not to say that they’re immune from being eaten alive! George Romero covered night, dawn, and day, but how about recess? With Recess Pieces, Bob Fingerman (Beg the Question, You Deserved It) dishes up a grisly combination of Hal Roach’s Our Gang and zombies, zombies, and more zombies.

Recess Pieces features story and art by Bob Fingerman. It arrives on sale August 23 with a retail price of $14.95.

Cover Image:

ISBN: 1-59307-450-6

From the creators of Kingdom of the Wicked comes the sequel to a story that is literally out of this world—Scarlet Traces: The Great Game I

This fantastical new miniseries picks up where the critically acclaimed hardcover left off.

After almost four decades of conflict, the British invasion of Mars has ground into a bloody stalemate in the dust of the red planet.

Launched to fanfares and cheers, the times and mood have changed, as the British government under the iron hand of Prime Minister Spry struggles to wage a war another world away while keeping its grip on an increasingly troubled and turbulent empire.

Fraught with revolt and revolution, the glory that was Great Britain is unraveling at the seams with freedom and free speech brutally sacrificed to maintain order. However, the worst is yet to come!

Scarlet Traces: The Great Game features story by Ian Edginton and art by D’Israeli. It arrives on sale July 12 with a retail price of $2.99.

Cover Image: