A new Demonslayer mini called Demonslayer: Lords of Night is coming up and now you can check out three covers from the saga by three excellent artists -- Karl Waller, Juan Jose Ryp, and Marat Mychaels.

Waller has done numerous covers for Avatar, a handful of shorts in Threshold and Raw Media, the recent Shi: Poisoned Paradise mini-series, and one of the great unknown classics from Avatar's early years, the Wrath of the Furies spin-off called the Silhouette Special.

Juan Jose Ryp's work can currently be seen on the stands in the amazingly detailed pages of Shi: Pandora's Box #1/2, and upcoming on Frank Miller's Robocop and Alan Moore's Another Suburban Romance.

Marat Mychaels is the creator of Demonslayer, a perennial Avatar fan favorite -- and a natural storyteller/artist in an era when that combination has become increasingly rare. Marat's Demonslayer: Lords of Night begins in June 2003, with a preview edition available in May.
[ posted Thursday, February 27, 2003 11:48:15 PM  |  permanent link to this item ]

Avatar Press has announced that it will be publishing the saga of one of the most acclaimed characters in indy comics with a series of mini-series featuring Billy Tucci's Shi. Shi launches at Avatar with Shi: Poisoned Paradise, a full color mini-series written by Tucci and featuring artwork by Karl Waller (X-Men Movie Wolverine Special, Wonder Woman).

"I've been friends with William Christensen for eight years now, and his devotion to the comics industry make this business venture an honor," says Shi creator Billy Tucci. "Avatar's absolute dedication to detail, shipping record and high production values will afford me the freedom to concentrate on the story and art aspects of Shi."

"Shi is arguably one of the greatest success stories in comics during the past decade," asserts Avatar Press editor in chief William Christensen. "A lofty claim, but consider that even high-profile successes like the Image guys paid their dues for years and years in the industry before breaking out big on their own. Billy came out of virtually nowhere and put out a book that was a hit from day one. There really aren't too many examples of that in recent comics history, and it shows the strength of Billy's vision and the strength of the character Shi. We are sparing no effort to continue the legend."

The debut mini-series Shi: Poisoned Paradise will be drawn by Karl Waller, an artist with string of high-profile credits to his name. Waller was penciller on the 1987 John Ostrander / Tim Truman mini-series Hotspur at Eclipse; he pencilled the D.G. Chichester-written Dark Horse series Motorhead, on which he was inked by Tim Bradstreet; he teamed with Christopher Priest on a Legends of the DC Universe arc; and worked with Jay Faerber for Marvel's X-Men the Movie: Wolverine special. Waller was also tapped for a couple months worth of Wonder Woman covers when Adam Hughes took a breather on that magnificent run recently, and has been a cover and pinup artist of note on the indy scene over the years. With Avatar Press, Waller has done dozens of covers for a wide range of Avatar titles, interior artwork for Threshold and Raw Media shorts, pencils and inks on the legendary 1997 Avatar one-shot Silhouette, and on the recent Robert Lugibihl-written Avengelyne/Shi #1.

Shi: Poisoned Paradise is a full-color mini-series written by Billy Tucci with art by Karl Waller, and color by Nimbus Studios. Avatar will preview the series in May and launch the mini-series in June 2002.