EPOCH: THE GREATEST TOURNAMENT EVER
Kevin McCarthy & Paolo Pantalena To Debut New Supernatural Miniseries

Berkeley, CA – 22 June 2011 – Image Comics, Top Cow Productions, and Heroes and Villains Entertainment proudly present a dark and intensely kinetic tale from writer Kevin McCarthy (Red Sonja, The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist) and artist Paolo Pantalena (What If?: House of M, War of Kings: Darkhawk). EPOCH, a 5-part miniseries beginning in August, will introduce readers to a whole new reality which pits one supernatural creature against another in a dangerous competition.

"EPOCH meets all of my criteria for a cool comic: murder, mayhem, mythology, mystery, and monsters. And a hero that dresses like Ming the Merciless," explained McCarthy. "EPOCH is the kind of comic I'd want to buy. Where else can you see an angel with inner demons solve the murder of a werewolf, pistol-whip a wizard, and run game on a gorgon?"

"When Heroes and Villains Entertainment presented us with EPOCH, we knew we had a terrifically dynamic, exciting world that comic fans would really respond to," said Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. "Kevin McCarthy has really brought the concept to life with a huge cast of fascinating characters and intrigue that will keep readers coming back month after month. And if that's not enough, Paolo Pantalena's art is sure to grab fans by their eyeballs and refuse to let go."

As the story of EPOCH begins, NYPD Detective Jonah Wright’s world is about to change forever. A mysterious murder case that he has been investigating threatens to rip apart his reality, plunging him into the shadowy world of the supernatural. It appears that Bishop is fated to unlock a conspiracy that could tear apart the very fabric of society!

EPOCH #1, a 32-page full color science fiction fantasy comic book for $3.99, will be available at a comic store near you on August 3, 2011.

ABOUT TOP COW PRODUCTIONS INC.
Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry’s Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT’s #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow’s other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. A second game is slated for release from 2K Games in the Fall of 2011. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow’s other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.