Zen Intergalactic Ninja Coming Back From DDP

[ENGLISH] Chicago, IL. (May 13, 2008) – A comic book icon who set the tone for environmental awareness in the 1990’s will re-emerge this Fall from Devil’s Due. DDP proudly announces the return of Zen Intergalactic Ninja, the alien hero who originally stormed through comics and video games with a uniquely quirky and dramatic style of action. « To me, comic-books should always be more than just damn good entertainment, » said Stephen Stern, writer/co-creator of Zen Intergalactic Ninja. « That’s why Zen turned his sights on saving Earth’s environment, back in the early 90’s.  My co-creator Dan Cote and I had the opportunity to get the message across to hundreds of thousands of young people, through our Archie Comics series, an action figure line from Just Toys, and both a GameBoy and NES game from Konami. »

With an all new 99-cent preview story hitting stores in September and a classic collection of Zen’s greatest tales due in October, Devil’s Due plans to bring Zen back in classic form for old and new readers alike. An alien trained in the martial arts, Zen was born from a lab experiment and cast into the cosmos to find his path. « Zen already has a cult following, and now is the perfect time to re-collect a lot of Zen’s hard-to-find classic storyarcs and bring him back into comics for today’s audience, » said DDP President Josh Blaylock.

DDP’s first collection of classic Zen will include the original series’ « Rawhide » trilogy – the  story of Zen’s fight against a terrorist who becomes a super-weapon after being irradiated by a nuclear explosion. « Dan and I are particularly pleased that Devil’s Due has decided to make that story the centerpiece of the first Zen trade paperback it will publish, » said Stern. DDP plans to follow with other classic collections of Zen adventures.

« Zen looked at the topics of environmentalism and terrorism in a different way that could only have happened in comics, » said Blaylock. « These themes have never been more timely, and I’m excited that DDP are going to be the ones ushering in his return. »

About Devil’s Due Publishing:
Proliferators of comics culture, DDP is one of the largest and most established comic book publishers in North America, carrying a diverse line-up of original, creator-owned and licensed properties. With offices in Los Angeles and Chicago DDP has many projects in development for film and television with major studios including 20th Century Fox, ABC Family, and Rogue Pictures. DDP’s titles include Drafted, Lost Squad, Sheena, Dungeons & Dragons, DemonWars, Voltron, Rest, Serpo and the cult-favorite Hack/Slash.  The company recently launched a line of cutting edge designer toys and life accessories under the imprint DDPOP, found in specialty stores this summer.