IN EXISTENCE NOW: Liberty Annual 2012

8 Notes

I’ve got a very special comic coming out this week.

The CBLDF Presented Liberty Annual is a yearly anthology with all proceeds going to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of the comics medium. As a guy who highly appreciates the free expression afforded by the comics medium, there’s not a better organization in the United States to support for such a cause. They do an immense amount of great work within the industry. I highly suggest you read this post by their Executive Director, Charles Brownstein, detailing what they’ve been up to in the past year.

I’m proud to be a card carrying member (like an actual card, illustrated by Cliff Chang) and was honored to be asked to take part in this year’s anthology, alongside creators like Jonathan Hickman, Ben Templesmith, Andy Diggle, Howard Chaykin, Sina Grace, Steve T. Seagle, Marco Cinello, James Robinson, J. Bone, James Asmus, Takeshi Miyazawa, Richard Starkings, Ian Churchill, Chris Roberson, Roger Langridge, Chris Giarrusso, David Hine, Doug Braithwaite, Brandon Graham, Jim McCann, Janet Lee, Kieron Gillen, Nate Bellegarde, Jordie Bellaire, Terry Moore and a very special, all-new WALKING DEAD story by series regulars Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard.

Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson joins a very elite pedigree of editors on the series, which have included Scott Dunbier, Jamie S. Rich, Larry Marder and Bob Schreck. Eric was also nice enough to ask me to contribute, pairing me with an artist whose work I’ve long admired, BLUE MONDAY’s Chynna Clugston Flores.

So the combination of working for a good cause and working with one of my favorite artists made this a great experience. The story we worked up, LUMIÈRE, may take readers of my work thus far by surprise. As a guy known for ultra-violent comics where heads explode on a fast click, you may be shocked by this comparatively quiet story about three generations’ lives affected by running a movie theater. It’s easily my first comic with a Jean-Luc Godard reference.

Anyway, for those curious, Here’s a massive preview, including the complete stories by Hickman, Templesmith and Diggle. Grab the full thing October 31st, 2012.