Happy Passover, muther f*ckers!!
Sorry, I always wanted to start a post that way.
The rumors and press release are true. Powers and Kabuki are holding hands and jumping to a brave new publisher after many awesome years at image.
The good news is that nothing about the quality or content of the comics will change. This is FULLY creator owned publishing initiative just like image central is. We own every page, every staple. All content is ours. Produced exactly like we have for many years at image. Same letter columns, same production people, same everything. No ads except for in house ads in the back.
Everything is the same except the company logo. Most people won’t even notice the change.
If you are already a readers of Powers, stay cool. Its all the same goodies.
If you have heard of Powers but haven’t read it, but you are a fan of my marvel work, particularly Daredevil and the Pulse, I truly think you will love Powers and now you have a perfect and totally easy way to get on board the first issue of the new series.
The reason for the move is not a slight against image on any level. Both David, Mike and I are still part of image. We will continue to produce our existing library through image, which thanks to your good word of mouth is a big part of our lives. That includes the first five Powers trades and all the Jinxworld titles (jinx, torso, goldfish, fire, and total sell out.)
We will still continue our foreign licencing through image and I will still have my wild and crazy message board at image as I have for many years.
And if you remember, I produced Fortune and Glory at Oni even though I was at image, why? Because Oni is good people and I wanted to do business with them. Still do. Wasn’t a slight against image then, and this is not either.
David, Mike and I have been at image for eight years (longer than rob [Liefeld] and Jim [Lee] put together btw,) and continue to support what has been built in image central with our presence. Though, yes Jim Valentino was my saviour over the years, both Eric Larsen and Stephenson have been nothing short of saintly in every single situation I have found them in.
What this is about is Marvel breaking historic ground for the company and our desire to support this with our life blood.
Creator ownership, real creator ownership, not that half assed stuff you hear about from other companies, is so important to all three of us. And when marvel offered to build this, we felt it was so important to be part of it.
We have always said that we have benefitted so much from the generations of comic creators before us, who worked so hard to pave the way for creator rights. We have had it so good and we are stunned that we get to help take it to the next level... Marvel’s first true creator owned imprint.
We do want to say to our readers and retailers that we are very, very sorry for the necessary resolicitation. We know paperwork is a pain in the ass, as is waiting for comics. We have never in all of our years ever had to resolicit. But, as you all know, in life sometimes things don’t time out the way you would hope for. The resolicit of our recent relaunches was the best scenario.
Sorry for surprising you guys with this announcement, business is a tricky bitch and we wanted to make sure everything was smooth sailing before we went blabbing. There’s enough of that on line.
Actually we were ready last Thursday, but we realized the date and figured no one would believe us.
More good news: though there will be a couple of months delay on the new Powers, July will see not one, but two brand new issues and a new trade. All this and I fuck up the avengers the same month.
The new trades will match the image trades in design and paperstock so your shelf will look fab. I know this is a concern for some.
On a side note, Mike and I found some ways to improve the first issue and its definitely stronger because of the downtime.
I do promise that this is the last big announcement from me for a while, even I am sick of me, and I love me.
So, if you are a fan of Powers or Kabuki, really, other than the delay, this is all good news. A happy home for your favorite book is about all you could hope for.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support. As I have told you, you vote with your wallet. You tell the publishers what you want and they listen. You made this happen.