With fans eagerly anticipating the debut of Archaia Entertainment and Before the Door’s first joint comic project, the two companies proudly unveiled the final cover to the first issue of LUCID, which will debut in August in comic book shops, with advance copies available at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif., July 22-25, 2010.

Lucid is a four-issue miniseries written and illustrated by newcomers Michael McMillian and Anna Wieszczyk, who also drew the cover. McMillian is a longtime comics fan and no stranger to the entertainment industry, having recently appeared on the hit HBO series “True Blood” and as a recurring regular on the Amanda Bynes CW television series, “What I Like About You.” McMillian is the creator of Lucid and this is his first written comic work. Wieszczyk is based in Poland and her short story, “Acid Sunset,” was recently published in Popgun Anthology Vol. 4. She is also currently working on Halo8’s Godkiller motion comic.

OKKO: THE CYCLE OF AIR, BOOK ONE is the third cycle in the OKKO series from Guy Delcourt Productions and Archaia Entertainment, LLC. It stands well on its own, though reading the other cycles in the series (Water and Earth) and knowing some of the background of the setting will no doubt lend more fluidity to the events of the story.

The plot focuses on Samurai Okko, his entourage, and their attempts to help a girl that is seemingly haunted by spirits.

Inside the June Alley Inn, located in the western mouse city of Barkstone, mice gather to tell tales, each trying to outdo the other. A competition, of sorts, begins. The game: Tell the best story, get your bar tab cleared! The rules: Every story must contain one truth, one lie and have never been told in that tavern before.

Legends of the Guard is a new Mouse Guard anthology series featuring the work of artists and storytellers handpicked by series creator David Petersen. Featured in this issue are stories by Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl), Alex Sheikman (Robotika) and Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things).

Flames Rising is pleased to present several preview pages from this new comic published by Archaia Entertainment.

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What do Paul Revere and Johnny Saturn have in common with Judge Dredd? They’re all on sale right now at DriveThruComics.com, your first downloadable comic shop.

All you have to do is visit DriveThruComics.com to enjoy an automatic twenty percent savings on select comic book downloads now through midnight on Sunday. There is no minimum purchase and you don’t have to enter any coupon codes to participate in the Weekend Warrior Sale. Prices normally range from ninety-nine cents for a single issue to twenty dollars for a graphic novel or exclusive collections.

Publishers included in the sale range from Archaia Entertainment, Coscom Entertainment, 2000 A.D., AAM-Markosia Press, Heske Horror, Caliber Comics and several more!

Just before I received this comic, I read Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. In that book, history gets turned every slightly, so that readers can be treated to a vision of the Sixteenth President. It’s a fun game to play, which is evident by the flood of books related to this genre.

Comics, however, get to reveal Paul Revere’s secret story. His story proves equally fun.

Grant Bond’s artwork in Revere: Revolution in Silver is, for lack of a better word, wicked. His splash pages along with the sketchbook at the end of the book show an incredible range of style. He often crafted two-page splashes with incredible effect. The colors are mostly dark (red is used for blood and the British mainly). Lots of grays and blacks fill this book; however, it looks vibrant.

We are back from C2E2, held in Chicago’s gorgeous McCormick Center, and we have quite a bit we’d like to share with you. In this post, we’ll highlight a few dark fantasy, science fiction and horror comics and relay news about publishers.

Several publishers, including Zenoscope Entertainment, were offering a title or two set in their version of Wonderland. Zenoscope, who will also be producing the CHARMED comic, specializes in dark fantasy comics as seen through their GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES line. So if you like Alice, you may want to check out their series of different WONDERLAND comics.

Answering the call of fans and retailers clamoring for more Mouse Guard stories, Archaia Entertainment proudly announced the launch of a new anthology miniseries, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, featuring covers and chapter breaks written and drawn by creator David Petersen and contributions from popular comic writers and artists, including Gene Ha, Terry Moore, Ted Naifeh, Guy Davis, Sean Rubin, Mark Smylie, Craig Rousseau, Karl Kerschl, Katie Cook and Jeremy Bastian. Issue #1 (full color, 24 pages, 8” x 8”, $3.50, Diamond Order Code MAR10 0699) is available for pre-order now and will debut in comic book shops in May.

“It started with the excitement and pleasure I had when Jeremy Bastian and Mark Smylie did their pinups for Volume 1 of Mouse Guard,” explained Petersen about the genesis of Legends of the Guard.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with an interview with David Petersen, the creator of the Mouse Guard graphic novel series. Published by Archaia Entertainment, Mouse Guard tells the story of a few brave mice dedicated to protecting their fellow mice from dangerous predators and other threats.

The graphic novels are widely popular; just Last summer we learned that Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 hit the New York Times Best Seller List. Because of the comic’s popularity, Archaia Entertainment recently announced that Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 hardcover is going into a third printing. The series is also a big hit among hobby gamers, too, who enjoy playing the Mouse Guard RPG.

We had the chance to ask David a few questions about the Mouse Guard series, including his upcoming Mouse Guard-related titles like Black Axe and Legends of the Guard.

As a testament to the continuing strength of the Mouse Guard brand and Archaia Entertainment’s commitment to its creators, the publisher announced today that after selling 80,000 copies of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard Vol. 1: Fall 1152 hardcover since its original release in 2007, the title is going back to press. Archaia’s third printing of 10,000 copies, which are scheduled to arrive in stores in March, was expected to last over a 12-month period, but a deluge of advanced ordering due to the announcement of more Mouse Guard volumes has prompted the possibility of a fourth printing to commence in the coming months.

Writer Jason Becker and artist Jon Rea are back with the second twisted issue of their series Killing Pickman. Slower paced and more convoluted than issue 1, this issue dives deeper into the origins of Dick Pickman’s monstrous deeds.

As Detective Zhu makes his way to Herbert West Memorial Hospital to finish the job he started in issue one, the act of killing Pickman, Mr. Pickman waxes insane to a hospital psychologist about his transformation into a malicious child killer. When Zhu arrives outside the door to Pickman’s room, gun in hand, he’s confronted by Detective Raimi. Flash forward two months and we find out that this case hasn’t been very kind to those involved with investigating and cleaning out the Pickman house. Detective Zhu is the only one who understands the literally monstrous nature of the case and he has a plan, but can he pull it off while also looking out for the best interests of his wife and their child?

Author Jason Becker and artist Jon Rea have collaborated to create Killing Pickman, a modern noire tale wrapped around serial child murder and Satanism. And honestly, it warms my heart, but please keep that between you and me.

Issue 1 starts with Detective Bill Zsu canvassing the neighborhood in which multiple children have disappeared. When he knocks on Dick Pickman’s door the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. After calling for back up a showdown ensues the results of which are six new holes in Pickman, the discovery of satanic hobbies undertaken by the aforementioned Mr. Pickman, and a tunnel in which more child victims are discovered alive. Pickman goes to the hospital and Detective Zsu goes a little crazy working the psychopath beat. Little does he know that he’s only scratched the surface of the depravity he’s just uncovered.

Combining Archaia’s longstanding commitment to producing high-quality hardcover graphic novels and Roddenberry’s goal to produce sophisticated, intelligent and entertaining science fiction in the tradition of Star Trek, the companies announced today they will publish a deluxe Days Missing hardcover that collects all five issues of the critically acclaimed mini-series plus a host of extra features, available in February 2010.

The Days Missing hardcover is available for pre-order now through comic retailers and online outlets like Amazon.com (ISBN 1-932386-84-X).

Larry Hama, the legendary mastermind behind G.I. JOE, makes his debut at Archaia! In this standalone tale presented in a graphic novella format, renowned treasure hunters Alaric Moebius and Basil Fox embark on an adventure that takes them from the deepest jungles of New Guinea to the deserts of Libya in search of a mysterious hidden pyramid that contains the power to end the world!

Featuring breathtaking art by Adam Archer (Spooks) and Lizzy John (Rest, Halloween), this unforgettable one-shot introduces readers to a terrifying, exciting new world created by Ryan Schifrin (Spooks)!

September 19th, 2008. The Large Hadron Super Collider in Cern, Switzerland is about to go operational. Humanity is poised to re-create the very same conditions that resulted in the Big Bang and the birth of the universe. Physicist and Cern team member Kate Prosper notices something in one of the tests, a temporal anomaly with no reasonable scientific explanation. Meanwhile, truck driver Alain Murais would do anything to save his dying son, who is suffering from leukemia. But he’s out of money, insurance and time. Kate and Alain’s paths will end up on a collision course not only with one another, but also the mysterious Steward. Before the Day is over, no one will ever be the same…

Archaia is proud to announce that Archaia’s own Mouse Guard Vol. 2: Winter 1152 by David Petersen has debuted at #4 on The New York Times Hardcover Graphic Books Best Seller List, week ending August 1.

The rankings on the list, according to The New York Times, “reflect sales of graphic novels, for the week ending August 1, at many thousands of venues where a wide range of books are sold nationwide. These include hundreds of independent book retailers (statistically weighted to represent all such outlets); national, regional and local chains; online and multimedia entertainment retailers; university, gift, supermarket, discount department stores and newsstands. In addition, these rankings also include unit sales reported by retailers nationwide that specialize in graphic novels and comic books.”

Adding to its growing list of accolades, acclaims and honors, Archaia’s Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game has been recognized by the 2009 Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (“the ENnies”) in three categories. The awards recognize excellence in tabletop roleplaying gaming, and winners are determined by the peoples’ choice, with the final winners voted upon online by gamers across the world.

The Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game has been nominated for Best Interior Art, Best Production Values and Product of the Year. It was created by Luke Crane (Burning Wheel) and David Petersen, the creator of the comic series on which the RPG is based.

In a focused effort to give new readers an opportunity to discover Archaia’s unique library of titles, the publisher announced today a program to offer one new hardcover every quarter for the recession-friendly price of $9.95. Kicking off the venture will be the Vol. 1 hardcover collection of the acclaimed science-fiction thriller mini-series, The Engineer: Konstrukt, which will be available this August.

Keeping with Archaia’s tradition of publishing high-quality, high-concept titles, The Engineer: Konstrukt, co-created by Brian Churilla and Jeremy Shepherd, tells the story of a reluctant hero who frantically races to
defeat an ancient creature eating away at the very fabric of space and time. To do so, he must travel across dimensions and put together the scattered pieces of the Konstrukt, an old-world technology that allows the user to manipulate reality itself.