Top Cow Announces Critically Acclaimed Re-Imagining Of The Vampire Mythos

[ENGLISH] Top Cow tells us: LOS ANGELES, Calif., August 25, 2008 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced it will publish the first, complete story arc of William Harms’ Impaler in a new trade paperback that will debut this October, and then will launch a new series for the property in December. The first three issues of the series were initially published by Top Cow parent company Image Comics in 2006-2007, but was never completed. The Impaler Vol. 1 trade paperback collects those three issues plus the final, three never-before-seen issues of the initial story arc. Top Cow was so excited by this series that it also greenlighted a new ongoing to follow the collection.

In Impaler, a derelict cargo ship is found adrift offshore during a terrible blizzard in New York City. When New York’s Finest is sent to investigate the missing crew, an unspeakable horror is unleashed that quickly spreads all over the snow-covered borough, as a vampire plague quickly moves through the city’s population. The people’s only hope lies in Vlad Tepes, the real-life historical inspiration for the vampire legend, Dracula. Vlad the Impaler arrives to defend the city from the ever-growing vampire horde, but how much can one man do against an army of thousands?

Impaler Vol. 1 boasts a stunning cover by John Paul Leon (Earth X) and features artwork by Nick Marinkovich (Nightwolf), Nick Postic (Underworld) and Francis Tsai (Marvel Comics Presents). The introduction is written by noted science fiction and horror writer F. Paul Wilson, who is responsible for the popular Repairman Jack series of novels and such horror books as The Keep, Midnight Mass and The Touch. Extras in the collection include script pages from unused scenes and bonus artwork.

In December, Top Cow will launch Impaler as an ongoing series, featuring art by British newcomer Matt Timson (Popgun).

“One of the nice things about having the break between the Image series and the new series is that it really gave me time to nail down where the story is headed,” revealed Harms. “I have the next couple arcs already plotted, and I think fans of the book will really dig where things are going.”

“William Harms has managed to put a truly unique spin on ‘the vampire story’ by taking Vlad the Impaler and making him a vampire hunter,” said Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “This trade collection gives birth to this original idea but the upcoming ongoing series from Harms and Matt Timson will really keep you up at night!”

Impaler was nominated for an International Horror Guild award and received accolades from Ain’t It Cool News, Rue Morgue magazine, Cinescape and Metro (Toronto).

About Top Cow Productions Inc.

Top Cow Productions, Inc. (http://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 is set for release on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. 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. 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. It set a June record for an opening weekend for an R-rated film. 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.