Tuesday, November 26, 2002

AVATAR PRESS FOR FEBRUARY

Following are Avatar Press' solicitations for February, with information coming from the company.

ALAN MOORE'S THE COURTYARD #2

Written by Alan Moore, art and cover by Jacen Burrows.

FBI man Aldo Sax has an amazing service record with the FBI. His legendary skills at piercing together the most baffling of cases has gotten him assigned to what may be his most confusing case yet. He has almost zero leads to go on, but the one hunch he does have takes him from a concert by the Ulther Cats to the mysterious courtyard in front of the home of a purported drug dealer. What follows is a whirlwind of sudden activity and unexpected twists that lead to a surprise ending that will shock you.

32 pages, black and white, $3.50 (wraparound $3.95).

STEVEN GRANT'S MORTAL SOULS TPB VOL 1

Written by Steven Grant, art by Philip Xavier, cover by Jacen Burrows.

Steven Grant unleashes his most haunting work yet. Human beings are a merger of body and soul, but the two don't die at the same rate. Sometimes one outlives the other. When a soul outlives its body, we call it a ghost. We have no word for what happens when a body outlives its soul. But the Hebrew Qabalists did. That word is "qelipoth": meaning, literally, the husks of the dead. They're dangerous creatures, once men but now without souls, consumed by their own emptiness and hunger and hating the living for the mere condition of being completely alive. Pursuing an unpredictable killer, police detective Eric Sharpe watches his life turn into a waking nightmare as he gains "the sight" - and he discovers Qelipoth not only exist, but they are everywhere. And now they want him dead. Punctuated with bloody staccato action and underscored by a puckish world view, Mortal Souls blends the rhythms of horror comics and crime comics.

72 pages, black and white, $9.95.

WARREN ELLIS' SCARS #4

Written by Warren Ellis, art and cover by Jacen Burrows.

John Cain has been faced with the most horrific murder of a child, one who was taken apart and neatly piled in boxes. As he struggles to cope with it, he also slowly moves down the path of evidence, trying to piece together how the horror happened. John becomes convinced he has a solid lead on the madman, but his peers think he is reaching at straws. But John is a man on a quest; a quest for a monster. And he won't let a single lead go unearthed as his passion to stop the killer only burns more brightly every time he thinks about it. A crime novel in six issues.

32 pages, black and white, $3.50 (wraparound, $3.95).

SHI: PANDORA'S BOX #1

Written by Robert Lugibihl, art by Juan Jose Ryp, covers by Billy Tucci, Al Rio, Matt Haley and Ryp.

Desperate for passage to Europe, Tori No Shi is willing to trade her services as an assassin for passage on a boat. All she has to do is kill a stranger she is told is an immortal demon. A woman named Pandora. But evil lurks in many forms and not everything is as it appears in this action packed epic that takes Shi to the very edge of living Hell.

32 pages, black and white, $3.50.

JUNGLE FANTASY #2

Written by Doug Miers, art by Ron Adrian and Sean Shaw, covers by Al Rio, Matt Martin, Adrian and Shaw.

Doug Miers writes and Ron Adrian draws the first chapter of the new story Ivory about a prehistoric mother who is forced into action to protect her newborn babe. Fauna swings back into action in the triumphant return of artist Sean Shaw picking up her story over two years in the making. With her ship wrecked and her rescue party never coming, Fauna is going to have to adjust to life in a Jurassic world.

32 pages, black and white, $3.50 (nude cover, $6).

HELLINA #0

Written by Robert Lugibihl, art by Rafa Lopez, covers by Juan Jose Ryp and Patrick Fillion.

Sandra wanted nothing more than to go to college and move through life like a normal person. But a sudden abduction by a demonic cult takes her down a path she never expected as she is turned in the assassin Hellina! Perfect for fans new and old, this issue features Hellina's full origin and tons of never before revealed information about her secret past, allies, and those who want to kill her.

32 pages, black and white, $3.50 (wraparound cover, $3.95; adult cover, $6).

TIDALWAVE STUDIOS

BLACK TIDE #4

Written by Debbie Bishop, art by Mike Miller, covers by Miller and Sean Murphy.

A copy of Black Tide: The Story So Far, comes polybagged with every copy of Black Tide #4. This free full color issue with pages from the past also contains new character sketches, data and history from the ancient realm. The journey to enlightenment is not an easy one. Past karma, conflicts, emotions and judgements cloud the path of three reluctant heroes as they battle their own inner demons while fighting evil in a black ops unit called the Deceivers. In this emotional issue, secrets are revealed and the hidden realm of the Draconian Warrior is unveiled as Kaila risks everything to help Justin understand the conflicts of his past. But his presence sparks an uprising not seen in Atlantis since its destruction thousands of years before. In the rage of battle, Kaila discovers deceit that rips into her very soul, beginning a catharsis that cuts her off from everyone she knows and loves.

32 pages, $3.50.