THE SURVIVAL OF SPECIES IN RETROVIRUS

Graphic novel by Palmiotti and Gray plumbs prehistory in sci-fi thriller

Dr. Zoe Wallace, the protagonist of Jimmy Palmiotti's and Justin Gray's new graphic novella RETROVIRUS, is one of the best in the field of viral evolution, a brilliant young scientist who attracts the attention of one of the world's largest and most powerful bio-pharmaceutical corporations. Zoe doesn't usually use her expertise for profit, but when Bio-Pharm gives her the chance to research a prehistoric virus, she can't pass up the chance. However, once Zoe is in their Antarctic compound, face-to-face with a perfectly preserved Neanderthal, Bio-Pharm's secrets may ensure that she never sees the outside world again.

And Zoe has a secret of her own—one that turns her research from theoretical to deeply personal.

"The fun of working on a project like this is looking at the set-up from a point of view like our character Zoe and putting all the pieces, together with her along the way," said Palmiotti. "With every turn the story gets deeper and deeper and more out of control, and like most of the work Justin and I do together, the challenge is to always keep the characters grounded in the madness around them so the reader can relate to every twist and turn."

"I always feel the best fiction is propelled by themes, and with Retrovirus there are a number of personal themes that arose in and around the time we began working on this project," added Gray. "Zoe represents motherhood, survival, determination and our core humanity when presented with terrifying situations. We wanted not only to create a story full of big scary action, but also something people could relate to."

A science fiction thriller that reaches all the way back to human prehistory and pulls the struggle for existence into the twenty-first century, RETROVIRUS is written by the team that has brought the comics industry CREATOR-OWNED HEROES and QUEEN CRAB and carries on the legacy of comics great Tony DeZuniga with Jonah Hex. Gorgeously rendered by Norberto Fernandez (The Tattered Man) and featuring a cover by Amanda Connor, RETROVIRUS blends human drama with science fiction and action in a story that will make readers think about the survival of our species in a new—and frightening—light.

RETROVIRUS, a 72-page, full-color graphic novella, will be in stores on November 21 and is available now for pre-order.


Story by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Art By: Norberto Fernandez
Cover By: Amanda Connor               
               
Price: $12.99
Diamond ID: SEP120411
ISBN: 978-1-60706-640-8
On Sale: November 21, 2012

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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, vi