LEGENDARY COMICS INTRODUCES TALENTED
LINEUP OF CREATORS AT COMICS PANEL
DURING COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2012

Mark Waid, Shane Davis, Max Brooks, Matt Wagner, Simon Bisley, and J. Michael Straczynski Along With Legendary Chairman
and CEO Thomas Tull and Editor-In-Chief Bob Schreck Reveal Artwork and Details On Upcoming Projects

Burbank, CA – July 16, 2012 – Legendary Comics, a division of Legendary Entertainment, unveiled its talent lineup during a jam-packed panel at Comic-Con International 2012. The panel provided the first opportunity for fans to hear from the creative teams who will be working on upcoming projects for the imprint -- including Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage) and Simon Bisley (2000 AD & Lobo) for The Tower Chronicles and Mark Waid (Kingdom Come, Daredevil), Shane Davis (Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns, Superman: Earth One) and Max Brooks (The Zombie Survival Guide, G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds) who are teaming up for an all-new IP entitled Shadow Walk. Legendary Editor-In-Chief Bob Schreck also provided details on the newly formed imprint. The panel was hosted by Chris Hardwick.

 

Highlighting the panel were two surprise announcements: J. Michael Straczynski (Superman: Earth One, Delicate Creatures) used the panel to announce his new book – The Majestic Files, a fast-paced story that looks at the events of the Roswell crash from an entirely new perspective. Additionally, Alex Ross’ cover for the second The Tower Chronicles release was revealed.

 

“We want Legendary Comics to be known in the industry as a place that fosters talent and creates innovative content,” said Legendary Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull. “Today was a great opportunity to showcase this to our fans.”

 

The Tower Chronicles

With the release of the first book of The Tower Chronicles just 2.5 months away, Wagner, Bisley, and Schreck appeared to discuss the progress of the book and reveal important details. The trilogy explores the history and contemporary adventures of John Tower, a supernatural bounty hunter with a grim and secretive past that haunts his every action. Tower’s past is highly mysterious and intricate beyond the immediately obvious--there's a LOT more to John Tower than just hunting down monsters.  He's actually on a very dire and personal quest that has taken him to all corners of the world...and spanned many, many years.  Like the Jason Bourne movie franchise, the secrets and history of John Tower's world are revealed little by little over the course of an epic comic-book trilogy.

 

"Like a modern-day paladin, John Tower pursues the dark and mysterious menaces that the rest of us has all but forgotten.  His deadly quest leads him to confront all manner of ghost, ghoul, goblin and even...the extremely rare vampire,” said Wagner.  “His past is haunted with secrets that spur him to again and again do battle with the most dangerous foes the world has ever known! Part of the thrill of our story is slowly watching the mysteries of HIS story unfold--along with all the supernatural menaces he has to face along the way."

 

The Tower portion of the panel concluded with the reveal of Ross’ compelling cover for the second chapter of Book One. Ross is the second world-class artist to create a cover for The Tower Chronicles series, following on the heels of Jim Lee’s cover for Chapter One, which was revealed earlier this year at c2e2. Schreck and Tull have stated that each subsequent cover in the trilogy will be created by equally renowned artists. The next cover artist and his work will be revealed at some point over the next few months. 

 

Shadow Walk

Is the Shadow of Death in the Bible a metaphor or could it be a real place? Waid, Davis and Brooks tackle that question as they focus on a valley near modern day Iraq where three separate incidents – in 1914, 1948, and 1968 – occurred during a time when the world was at war. Satellite photos from each incident along with firsthand accounts reveal incidents that seem to defy the Second Law of thermodynamics and uncover tales of men being mutilated. Now, it is time to find out once-and-for-all the source of these encounters. In their first comments on the project the triumverate discussed the roles of each of the creators and the contributions that Brooks will be making. Additionally, the title treatment and the first pieces of art from Davis were shown.

 

"SHADOW WALK is an excursion into a very dark world where a small band of adventurers will have their faith tested and their concept of reality turned upside-down in their quest for something that cannot possibly exist--and, yet, does," commented Waid.

 

The Majestic Files

During Straczynski’s surprise appearance at the panel, the first details were revealed about his previously unannounced project, which unravels what really happened at Roswell on July 8, 1947 by using real-life experts from the world of politics, science and the military to construct a step-by-step recreation detailing what might have happened, and then using that as the basis for a fast-paced story. Additionally, it was revealed that artist Geoff Shaw (Batman, Grimm Fairy Tales) will be working alongside Straczynski on the project. The title treatment and promotional art created by Shaw was shown to fans.

 

ABOUT LEGENDARY ENTERTAINMENT

Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television (Legendary Television) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to mainstream audiences with a targeted focus on the powerful fandom demographic.  Through complete or joint ownership, Legendary is building a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world's most popular intellectual property.  Among the wholly-owned projects that Legendary Pictures is currently developing in-house are the upcoming Seventh Son, directed by Sergei Bodrov; the Jackie Robinson biopic 42; an adaptation of the phenomenally successful interactive game universe Warcraft; Godzilla, based on Toho Company’s famed character; Warren Ellis’ Gravel; and Mass Effect, based on Electronic Arts’ and BioWare’s hit videogame franchise. Upcoming Legendary releases with partner Warner Bros. include the highly anticipated Pacific Rim, as well as Hangover 3, Man of Steel, Jack the Giant Killer, 300: Battle of Artemisium, and this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises.  Previous successful Legendary and Warner Bros. releases include the critically acclaimed Inception, which has been a box office smash grossing more than $823 million worldwide, as well as the global blockbusters The Hangover, Parts I and II (over $1 billion worldwide total), Clash of the Titans ($493 million worldwide), The Dark Knight ($1 billion worldwide), and 300 ($456 million worldwide). The legendary Comics division is releasing The Tower Chronicles this fall, an all-new original IP created by Thomas Tull and developed by Tull and Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage).