WIZARDS OF THE COAST AND VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCE THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET

Seattle, WA and San Francisco, CA, November 2, 2016 — Wizards of the Coast and VIZ Media have jointly announced plans to expand THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING® collection with THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET, scheduled for release in July 2017.

The fourth and latest release in the ongoing series of impressive hardcover editions featuring artwork from Magic: The Gathering™ will present scores of full-color illustrations from an array of talented artists, including Cliff Childs, Winona Wilson, Christine Choi and Adam Paquette. Additional insights and lore on the dangerous and beautiful world of Amonkhet are provided by bestselling author and Magic: The Gathering Senior Game Designer, James Wyatt. Amonkhet is the latest expansion game for Magic: The Gathering and is set for retail release by Wizards of the Coast in April of 2017.

Throughout its 23-year history, Magic: The Gathering has visited many richly imaginative worlds through card sets and stories. Developed by Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering has more than 20 million fans, is played in more than 70 countries, and is available in 11 languages. Magic: The Gathering has won numerous notable awards, including a Mensa Award and multiple Origins Awards, the Hobby Game industry’s annual top award.

In THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET, the Second Sun creeps across the sky, growing ever closer to the horns of the God-Pharaoh. These pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering™, will introduce readers to the people of Amonkhet, whose life is a series of trials meant to prepare them for the great God-Pharaoh’s return. The glorious hope and desolate despair of Amonkhet awaits readers as the final hours draw near!

“THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET reveals a world of harsh beauty and incredible contrast. While withering sandstorms rip across barren and treacherous deserts, a thriving city-state worships the God-Pharaoh who protects their verdant oasis,” says Elaine Chase, Senior Director of Global Brand Strategy and Marketing for Magic: The Gathering. “Of course, beneath this utopian surface lies a darker truth, and James Wyatt guides fans through the lore of Amonkhet masterfully.”

“The vibrant yet deadly world of Amonkhet comes to life in vivid illustrations, and we invite players and fans of fantasy art to celebrate their love of Magic: The Gathering with this beautifully detailed and comprehensive new release,” says Beth Kawasaki, Senior Editorial Director, VIZ Media. “Explore the desert oasis of this sun-drenched plane ruled by the infamous Elder Dragon, Nicol Bolas, and savor all of the strange and wondrous inhabitants of this unique world.”

THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET joins THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING: KALADESH (scheduled for January 2017 release) and THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING: INNISTRAD and THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING: ZENDIKAR, which are available now from VIZ Media. Each contains specially curated collections of illustrations from Wizards of the Coast’s popular strategy card game, Magic: The Gathering. 

About Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering is the world's best strategy game, with more than 20 million players and fans worldwide. In this innovative card game, players build personalized decks using cards they have collected from booster packs and by trading with friends. Magic offers a robust gaming experience for its community of passionate fans through face-to-face play events and social gatherings in more than 7,000 hobby game stores around the world, complemented by its Magic Duels and Magic Online digital games. For more information, visit MagicTheGathering.com.

About Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. Wizards offers players and fans immersive digital and tabletop gaming experiences through its global brands MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, DUEL MASTERS and AVALON HILL. Wizards’ games help bring friends, families and communities together through shared imaginative play. Wizards also publishes a fantasy fiction series with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information please visit the website at www.Wizards.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Established in 1986, VIZ Media is the premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing. Along with its popular digital magazine WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, DRAGON BALL, SAILOR MOON, and POKÉMON, VIZ Media offers an extensive library of titles and original content in a wide variety of book and video formats, as well as through official licensed merchandise. Owned by three of Japan's largest publishing and entertainment companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is dedicated to bringing the best titles for English-speaking audiences worldwide.

Learn more about VIZ Media and its properties at www.VIZ.com.

YOUTUBE ANNOUNCES FIRST ORIGINAL ANIMATED SERIES PARANORMAL ACTION SQUAD

Debuts Exclusively on YouTube Red

November 16, 2016

First Look Video Released Today

Check it out: Paranormal Action Squad First Look Video

Los Angeles, CA – November 2, 2016 – YouTube today announced the upcoming launch of its first animated series PARANORMAL ACTION SQUAD from top YouTube gaming and animation creators Vanoss, SeaNanners and Mr_Sark.  Helmed by  Michael Rowe, the Emmy Award-winning writer on “Futurama” and “Family Guy,” and produced by 3BlackDot, this new animated show debuts exclusively on YouTube Red on November 16, 2016.   

PARANORMAL ACTION SQUAD is an eight-episode comedy that follows two paranormal enthusiasts, Paul (voiced by SeaNanners) and Eddie (voiced by Mr_Sark) who, along with their squad mates and enthusiastic neighbor Vanoss (voiced by Vanoss), have made it their mission in life to uncover the mysteries of the ghostly universe.

In each episode, this team of ill-equipped paranormal investigators will fight the supernatural for desperate clients while trying not to make things worse.

In anticipation of the upcoming launch, Mr_Sark released a first-look video today with a behind-the-scenes look and teaser of the new series. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/xeWPv8TuShI.

YouTube Red is a paid membership that gives you an enhanced, uninterrupted experience across YouTube, YouTube Music and YouTube Gaming. Members also get exclusive access to new Original series and movies from top YouTube creators. YouTube Red is currently available in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, with plans for additional international expansion next year.

ABOUT YOUTUBE

Launched in May 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube is a Google company.

“World of Tanks: Roll Out!” Comic Book Issue #2 Now Available

Comic Book inspired premium Firefly tank Boilermaker joins the battle!

MILWAUKIE, Ore., (November 2, 2016)—Wargaming and Dark Horse deliver the highly anticipated second issue of the World of Tanks: Roll Out comic book, available digitally at Dark Horse Digital and in comic book stores in North America, Australia, Western and Eastern Europe today. Exclusively in printed copies of issue #2, is a code for the special Open Fire bundle loaded with in-game items for World of Tanks on console. The next in the series of storyline inspired hero tanks arrives with the Sherman Firefly Boilermaker. Exploding from the pages of the comic book, Boilermaker is now available to purchase for World of Tanks on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and Xbox 360. The action escalates in the next installment of Wargaming’s intense tank combat saga. Garth Ennis (Preacher, War Stories) and illustrator Carlos Ezquerra (Judge Dredd, War Stories Vol. 2) once again take readers back to the battlefield as the British tank crew makes an alarming discovery that could turn the tables on the German Panthers that hunt them. Meanwhile, the German Panther division suffers heavy losses and must reunite with their battalion, only to face a new challenge. Available in the Premium Shop are a series of bundles featuring the comic book’s iconic Sherman Firefly, Boilermaker. Packing a mighty 17 PDR gun, Boilermaker comes with an authentic WWII camo and unique decals that act as spaced armor. Rounding out this impressive package is the inclusion of tank Commander James White who possesses the Last Stand skill. As an added bonus and available only to those who purchase the comic physically, is a code for the Open Fire bundle bringing a platform specific T1 tank and a full load of in-game content like garage slots, fully trained crews and more! World of Tanks (PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC and Mobile) is the first free-to-play massively multiplayer online action game dedicated to armored warfare. With hundreds of vehicles from a variety of countries at your disposal, the path to victory is achieved through team work, strategy and expert combat skill. ### About Wargaming Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles. Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that will include the armored World of Tanks, the flight combat World of Warplanes, and the naval World of Warships. The three intertwined titles will form a common gaming universe integrated within the portal www.wargaming.net. As part of its multiplatform line-up, the company has introduced World of Tanks on Xbox and World of Tanks Blitz on mobiles, tablets and Windows 10 PCs. Launched in 2014 and 2015, World of Tanks on Xbox introduced epic tank-on-tank battles to console gamers and offers the first cross-platform gaming experience between Xbox 360 and Xbox One. In 2016, Wargaming released World of Tanks for Sony’s PlayStation®4, continuing its console campaign. Official website: • www.wargaming.com About Dark Horse For thirty years, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, the company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Geof Darrow, Brian Wood, Gail Simone, Stan Sakai, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Milo Manara, Kazuo Koike, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, X, and Barb Wire. Its successful line of comics, manga, and products based on popular properties includes Dragon Age, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Tomb Raider, Halo, The Witcher, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading entertainment publishers.

KIERON GILLEN CALLS THROWAWAYS “ONE TO KEEP”
The first four issues collected into Vol. 1 trade paperback this December
 

Writer Caitlin Kittredge (Coffin Hill, Hell) and artist Steven Sanders (Wolverine) will release the first volume of their high-speed, high-stakes spy thriller THROWAWAYS in trade paperback this December.

Abby Palmer and Dean Logan are two broken people with something in common: they're both victims of a brutal government mind control experiment—and they're the only two who escaped alive. When the program finds them again, eachy becomes the other's only chance to survive. The program gifted them both with abilities beyond a normal human's imagination, and as Dean and Abby realize what was done to them, they're determined to use those abilities to destroy the program and its sinister architect once and for all.

THROWAWAYS, VOLUME 1 (ISBN: 978-1-5343-0029-3) hits comic book stores Wednesday, December 21st and bookstores Tuesday, December 27th, and will be available for $9.99. It can be ordered by retailers with Diamond code OCT160669, and it is available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and Indigo.

Select praise for THROWAWAYS:

"This psychic spy thriller about disposable assets is one to keep." —Kieron Gillen (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE)

“Exciting, fast-paced and intriguing.” —Big Comic Page

“Sanders’ artwork is just as entertaining to look at as Kittredge’s story is to read.” —Bounding into Comics

“The imagination with which this story is told, coupled with quick-flowing dialogue, renders Throwaways as an immediate page-turner.” —DoomRocket

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, fantasy, 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.

WRITER ON HBO’S WESTWORLD PENS EISNER AWARD-WINNING THE FADE OUT
Bestselling series written by Brubaker collected into a deluxe hardcover and available just in time for the holidays

The New York Times bestseller and recent Eisner Award-winner for Best Limited Series THE FADE OUT by writer Ed Brubaker, artist Sean Phillips, and colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser is now available in a deluxe hardcover edition. THE FADE OUT deluxe hardcover edition collects the complete series, features bonus content, and makes the perfect gift for the holidays.

THE FADE OUT marks the noir team’s most ambitious project yet. An epic noir set in the world of noir itself, THE FADE OUT takes place in the backlots and bars of Hollywood at the end of its Golden Era. A movie stuck in endless reshoots, a writer damaged from the war and lost in the bottle, a dead movie star and the lookalike hired to replace her. Nothing is what it seems in the place where only lies are true.

Of particular interest are Brubaker’s own real life ties to Hollywood, both in the present and past. Currently, Brubaker is a writer on and serves as Supervising Producer for HBO’s WESTWORLD series—a series that’s garnered much buzz amongst critics as HBO’s next big Game-of-Thrones-level success. And before that, Brubaker gained notoriety for his noir revisioning of Captain America: Winter Soldier, influences of which were drawn upon for the film adaptation. Next up, Brubaker has been tapped as the writer on the forthcoming Maniac Cop remake.

But Brubaker has an interesting familial tie to Old Hollywood as well, as the nephew of Golden-Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated, noir screenwriter John Paxton (Murder, My Sweet, Cornered, and Crossfire) who worked in Hollywood during the Red Scare. Two of Paxton's friends and collaborators, Adrian Scott and Edward Dmytryk were among the Hollywood Ten, the first of those ruined by the blacklist.

THE FADE OUT Deluxe Hardcover (ISBN: 978-1632159113) is an instant classic and a must-have. It is available in-stores now (Diamond Code JUL160832) and can be ordered online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and Indigo.

Select praise for THE FADE OUT:

“With a fantastic start and an ambitious future, The Fade Out is another promising title from a partnership that’s been producing first-rate work for over a decade. It’s a book that’s instantly reminiscent of what they’ve done before, but it also provides a canvas for the pair to go further than they have before. And besides—it’s hard to beat that setting.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A fun, fast read that is fully engaging. The multiple story lines and deeply flawed characters will keep the reader invested. Some of the content is for a mature audience, but this should not deter a worthy library purchase. For fans of Brubaker and Phillips, film noir, and Golden Age Hollywood stories.” —Library Journal (Starred) 

“Hollywood has never looked so dark, so sinister and so seductive. It’s a story that only a Brubaker/Phillips comic could tell.” —Paste Magazine

“Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are peanut butter and jelly at this point. You may enjoy them separately, but there’s nothing better when you combine them.” —IGN

“Offers a fresh spin on the genre.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“It’s a slow-burning, original ensemble drama the likes of which these collaborators haven’t really attempted in the past, and trying something different has only improved an already outstanding partnership.” —The Onion’s A.V. Club

“Phillips is a master of mood and emotion, which serves him well here, as he accentuates plot twists and subdued character moments with perfect expressions and body language.” —Tech Times

“These guys are masters of their craft.” —Bloody Disgusting

“Ed Brubaker’s darker than dark drama about the inner workings of Hollywood at a crucial phase of the industry’s change is essential reading and further proof that Brubaker and Sean Phillips are two of the industry’s best, performing at the top of their game.” —PopOptiq

“To capture the look of 1940s Los Angeles, Baker and Phillips hired a research assistant, Amy Condit, who runs the LA Police Museum and curated the recent exhibit of the Black Dahlia case. She is worth whatever they paid her—the look and mood of The Fade Out is like a trip in a time machine to a Los Angeles built by Chandler, Fante, Hammett, and Nathanael West.” —Boing Boing

“A fantastic job from start to finish.” —Comic Book Resources

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, fantasy, 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.