Blind Ferret and acclaimed fantasy author Joe Abercrombie
announceTHE FIRST LAW comics!
April 10, 2013, Montreal, Canada, New York, NY - Blind Ferret Entertainment and New York Times bestselling novelist Joe Abercrombie announced today their agreement to bring
THE FIRST LAW series of fantasy novels to comics, starting with the first book in the series
The Blade Itself. Experience the entire first issue today
via comiXology and the first 12 pages through
http://www.firstlawcomic.com.
“The blade itself incites to deeds of violence.” - Homer
Logen
Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught up
in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian,
leaving nothing behind but some bad songs, a few dead friends, and a lot
of happy enemies.
Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more
dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of
glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields
of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor
Glokta, cripple turned torturer, is cutting treason out of the Union
one confession at a time. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right
to the rotten heart of government – if he can stay alive long enough to
follow it.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old
scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is
sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, wickedly funny, and packed
with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is fantasy with a real
cutting edge.
Industry veteran Chuck Dixon (The Punisher, The
Simpsons) is handling scripting, with detailed artwork by Andie Tong
(The Batman Strikes, Tron: Betrayal), and stunning colors by Peter
Pantazis (Justice League of America, Superman/Batman). Joe Abercrombie
is personally overseeing all stages of production on the title.
“This
whole process has been a real delight for me, ” said Joe Abercrombie.
“Seeing Chuck whittle the book into scripts, seeing Andie put faces,
expression, and action to my characters, and seeing Pete’s colors bring
the whole thing to life. The results really have exceeded my highest
hopes.”
The entire first issue is available now for 99 cents from
comiXology the revolutionary digital comics platform available across
the
iPhone,
iPad,
Android,
Kindle Fire,
Windows 8 and
the Web.
Future digital issues will also be available for purchase from
comiXology. Each issue bought through comiXology will include an
exclusive 8-page sketchbook bonus section full of concept and pencil
artwork from artist Andie Tong. Additionally, the first twelve pages to
issue #1 can be viewed and read online now at
www.firstlawcomic.com.
New pages will be posted each week, with 1 new page going up every
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Blade Itself Vol. 1 graphic novel will
be published in print later this year, and will collect the first 4
issues.
The First Law series of novels have been translated into
26 languages worldwide and sold over two million copies, garnering a ton
of acclaim along the way. On April 10th, 2013, come see this vivid
fantasy world come to life in full color!
About Joe Abercrombie:
Joe Abercrombie was born in Lancaster, England, studied Psychology at
Manchester University, and worked as a freelance film editor for 10
years. His first book, The Blade Itself, was published by Gollancz in
2006 and was followed by two other books in The First Law trilogy,
Before They are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings. Three standalone
books set in the same world have followed: Best Served Cold, The Heroes,
and most recently, Red Country. His books are London and New York Times
bestsellers, published in 26 countries. He lives in Bath with his wife
and three children.
www.joeabercrombie.com
About Blind Ferret Entertainment:
Blind ferret Entertainment is a Montreal based multi-media company best
known for its flagship web property Least I Could Do along with it’s
other comics Looking For Group and The Gutters. With a worldwide reach
of over 3 million fans and nearly 10 years of experience, Blind Ferret
continues to expand and reach out to new audiences worldwide.
www.blindferret.com
About comiXology
Founded in 2007, comiXology revolutionized the comic book and graphic
novel industry by delivering a cloud-based digital comics platform that
makes discovering, buying, and reading comics more fun than ever before.
ComiXology's Guided View reading technology transforms the comic book
medium into an immersive and cinematic experience, helping comiXology
become one of iTunes' top 10-grossing iPad apps in 2011 and 2012. Its
new comiXology Submit platform enables independent comics creators to
efficiently self-publish and immediately profit from their work.
Offering the broadest library of comic book content from the top 75
publishers, plus leading and emerging independent creators, comiXology
will not stop until everyone on the face of the planet has become a
comic book fan. The privately held company is based in Gotham City. For
more information visit
www.comixology.com.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE FIRST LAW
“The battles are vivid and visceral, the action brutal, the pace
headlong, and Abercrombie piles the betrayals, reversals, and plot
twists one atop another to keep us guessing how it will all come out.”
—George RR Martin, author of A Game of Thrones
“The books are
good, really good. They pulled me in. Well-developed world. Unique,
compelling characters. I like them so much that when I got to the end of
the second book and found out the third book wasn’t going to be out in
the US for another three months, I experienced a fit of rage, then a fit
of depression, then I ate some lunch and had a bit of a lay down.”
—Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind
“There’s
wizards, mythology, kings, princes, a self-absorbed nobleman, ancient
legends, fencing – all written so well I was grinding my teeth with envy
whenever I HAD to put the book down. This is a fantastic start to a
trilogy, and I can’t wait to get the next two books so I can see what
happens next.” — Lilith Saintcrow, Author of Working for the Devil
“Nobody writes grittier heroic fantasy that Joe Abercrombie, and the
second book in his The First Law series just proves the point in spades –
When Abercrombie’s characters ride for glory, you might as well be
there with them, he does such a good job of putting the reader in the
scene. Immediate, daring, and utterly entertaining, this second book
provides evidence that Abercrombie is headed for superstar status.”—Jeff
VanderMeer, Realms of Fantasy
“Abercrombie has written the
finest epic fantasy trilogy in recent memory. He’s one writer no one
should miss.”
— Junot Diaz, Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Brief
Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
“Critics compare Abercrombie to
Dickens, but come on – Dickens was never so entertaining – The First Law
Trilogy: an adventure whose characters grow in tough, surprising,
satisfying ways, in a gritty, exotic world that is sometimes awful, and
always fascinates. Expect fast, funny dialog and one hell of a rush.”
—
John Meaney, author of Paradox and Bone Song
“The Blade Itself
by Joe Abercrombie is the best new fantasy book I’ve read in the last 10
years. Yes. You heard that right.”
— Andy Remic, author of Kell’s
Legend
“Delightfully twisted and evil.”
— John Courtnay Grimwood, The Guardian
“There is a gritty edge to his world, and an awareness of violence that
is very contemporary – there is much to reward the reader.”
— Lisa
Tuttle, The Times
“An admirably hard, fast and unpretentious
read – packs a mean punch in the bloodthirsty mayhem and mystery
departments.”
— Saxon Bullock, SFX
“It’s funny, violent, and brilliant. Imagine if Quentin Tarantino wrote a sword & sorcery novel.”
— Unshelved book club
“You’d never guess that The Blade Itself is Joe Abercrombie’s debut
novel. He writes like a natural. There are great characters, sparky
dialogue, an action-packed plot, and from the very first words and an
opening scene that is literally a cliffhanger, you know you are in for a
cheeky, vivid, exhilarating ride.”
— Barbara Davies, Starburst
“The Blade Itself is a page-turner powered by a combination of gritty,
fast-paced action and juicy doses of cynicism.”
— Edge Magazine
“Abercrombie kicks off his series masterfully with a heroic fantasy
without conventional heroes. Its clearly the characters that take center
stage here. Their dialogue is full of cynicism and wit, their lives
full of intrigue, battles and magic.”
— Gail Pruszkowski, Romantic Times
“Fast-paced, deeply sarcastic, spitefully witty and well observed. The
dialogue is razor sharp, the author is comfortable changing voices
depending on viewpoint and there is very little to find fault with.”
—
Den Patrick, Dreamwatch
“A fantasy novel full of enough ironic
and slightly self-deprecating humor and Scorcese-esque violence to make
the average hipper than thou non-fantasy reader want to learn more about
the genre – yet filled with enough touchstones to make your average
Tolkien-weaned fantasy reader quite happy indeed.”
— Lucien Spelman,
Blood, Blade & Thruster
“Fans of character-driven epics who
are willing to take their heroes with a grain of moral ambiguity should
add this novel to their ‘must read’ list – The Blade Itself is a
smartly-written, sophisticated debut with compelling characters, a
complex plot, and style to burn.”
— Siobhan Carroll, Strange Horizons
“In addition to excellent characterizations and fascinating
world-building, Abercrombie also writes the best fight scenes I have
read in ages. I’m glad the whole package is good, but I could happily
recommend The Blade Itself for the fight scenes alone.”
— John Enzinas,
SFSite
“Now this is a breath of fresh air! A story told with
wit, dash, and a keen eye for character – Finding a writer like
Abercrombie amidst the clutter of second-raters who crowd the fantasy
genre is like the sun breaking through dark clouds; he wakes you up and
reminds you why you took up reading in the first place.”
— Simeon Shoul,
Infinity Plus
“The Blade Itself is an incredibly accomplished first novel.”
— Victoria Hoyle, Emerald City
“An extremely impressive debut, the first in a series subtitled The
First Law, and in Joe Abercrombie it brings us a writer who oozes
promise. This is surely a novel as sharp as its title.”
— John Berlyne,
SFRevu
“The Blade Itself easily equals anything released in
epic fantasy in the past few years, and just may rise to the top – This
book is about characters first, and Abercrombie skillfully portrays them
with near-perfect internal and external dialogue set at an ideal pace –
he stops just short of spitting in the face of genre and set my heart
racing through some the best written fight scenes of any genre. This one
is not just for fans of epic fantasy.”
— Neth Space
The hit book that has everyone talking, is causing headlines again. SEX #2, the second issue of the new Image Comics series by Joe Casey and Piotr Kowalski, has sold out of its initial printing at the distributor on the day of release. A second printing of SEX #2 is underway and will be available for sale on May 15,
2013.
San Diego, CA (April 12, 2013) – Following the success of their ongoing series of new Judge Dredd comics, IDW is bringing 2000 AD’s classic stories back as they’ve never been seen before… in color! Beginning with a special Free Comic Book Day issue on May 4, JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS will bring the stories that started it all to a new audience and a new age.
The curse of the femme fatale has taken readers of 
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Diego, CA (April 10, 2013) – IDW Publishing is thrilled to announce the
final title in the 2013 relaunch of their G.I. JOE line, G.I. JOE: THE COBRA FILES, kicks off today!
