DARK HORSE COMICS FOR MAY

Following are Dark Horse Comics' soliciations for May, with information coming from the company.

BILLY TUCCI'S SHI POSTER

Art by Billy Tucci.

Shi is back, and Dark Horse has her. Response to Billy Tucci's cover art to the first Dark Horse issue has been so spectacular that Dark Horse is now making it available as a big 22" x 34" poster. Printed on 80# gloss book stock, the poster comes pre-rolled in a plastic sleeve. Dark Horse is also offering a special deluxe signed version of the poster in a very limited edition signed and numbered by Tucci. Same size, but printed on a different, more deluxe paper stock. Only 100 will be produced, so allocation is likely.

$9.99 (deluxe limited edition, $39.99), in stores on Mary 26.

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #89

By Hiroaki Samura.

Known for its cast of vibrant punk rock characters, Blade of the Immortal promises a future chock full of new color with this chapter. We're introduced to bizarre, new members of the Itto-ryu and their odd hairstyles, costumes, and weapons, as players in the secret, outcast Mugai-ryu crew conspire in the background. Also, with their flight towards Edo interrupted by Anotsu's illness, will Rin finally take this opportunity to end his life ... or will she wind up defending it? Hiroaki Samura is about to turn his Samurai epic in a strange, new direction!

32 pages, black and white, $2.99, in stores on May 12.

B.P.R.D.: A PLAGUE OF FROGS #3

By Mike Mignola and Guy Davis.

While Roger hangs lifeless, the other members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense recover from their helicopter crash only to see Johann torn to shreds by the town's only inhabitants--a cult of frog men led by a shrouded freak, who erupts in a fleshy explosion. The roof comes down on a chained Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman, and only Kate Corrigan, the only normal human in the crew, remains free, hopelessly trying to raise help on the crashed copter's radio. It's the return of the frog men from Seed of Destruction, the most disastrous B.P.R.D. mission since Wake the Devil.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 5.

CONAN #4

By Kurt Busiek, Cary Nord, Tom Yeates and Dave Stewart, cover by Joseph Michael Linsner.

A captive Conan is brought north in chains and learns just how far off the mark was his vision of Hyperborea as a land "of gleaming cities, of riches, and wonders, and exotic women, who live lives of serenity and contemplation, in peace with all manner of bird and beast, from the lamb to the griffin and milk and honey flow in streams from the hills." Robert E. Howard hinted at the nightmares that his character Conan suffered in Hyperborea, but Busiek and company reveal them here for the first time in livid detail.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 26.

THE DARK HORSE BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT HC

By Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni, Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson, Scott Morse and others.

Following the success of The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, Dark Horse returns with another collection of bizarre tales by Eisner Award-winning artists Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni, Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson, and Scott Morse. Mignola returns with another Hellboy story, and Thompson and Dorkin return to the characters in their stunning "Stray" story, the surprise hit of the first volume in this series. Morse presents a haunting tale of old Salem, digging into the madness of the accusations leveled there, which ended more than thirty lives in a few short months. Filled with other stellar comics offerings, as well as a classic witch tale by Clark Ashton Smith and illustrated by cover artist Gianni, The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft conjures up weird tales of horror and magic the likes of which one seldom sees in the comics medium.

96 pages, $14.95, in stores on June 23.

EL ZOMBO #2

By Kevin Munroe and Dave Wilkins, cover by Wilkins and Tony Washington.

Join 10-year-old Beli and her undead guardian angel El Zombo after they've spent a tumultuous few weeks together. Now that the two have finally learned to co-exist, Zombo is about to have a startling revelation. Investigating his own murder after hours, Zombo comes face to face with the man responsible for his bullet holes ... and inadvertently endangers Beli! But that's not the worst of it--Zombo will discover the painfully rotten truth about what happens when a guardian angel doesn't fulfill his duties.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 19.

FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND #3

By Steve Niles and Greg Ruth.

The parents begin killing their mutant horde, but when Will's father comes to kill him, monstrous violence and occult powers break out, and the true nature of the freaks of the heartland becomes an even deeper mystery. The writer of 30 Days of Night and Criminal Macabre joins forces with The Matrix comics artist Greg Ruth for a bizarre tour through the Bible belt.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 12.

FUSED: CANNED HEAT TPB

By Steve Niles, Paul Lee, Ben Templesmith and Brad Rader.

Mark Haggerty was a promising young robotics engineer until his body became fused with an experimental robot suit during a routine testing session. Trapped inside a body that's not his own, and suddenly the unwilling pawn in a deadly struggle between obsessive egos and misguided military forces, Mark's life is forever changed. With his human body consumed more each day by the Cy-bot suit, and the most dangerous elements in the world closing in around him, Mark's only recourse is to keep fighting--until he gets his life back.

96 pages, $12.95, in stores on June 23.

GRENDEL: DEVIL'S REIGN #1

By Matt Wagner and Tim Sale.

The year is 2530, and the corrupt Church has fallen. Continent-wide social upheaval following the collapse of Vatican Ouest's tower in Colorado is compounded by the spreading infestation of vampires--victims of a savage new plague. Ex-COP leader Pellon Cross is still at large, and Eppy Thatcher is nowhere to be found. Orion Assante, in control of North America's most-watched broadcasting frequency, begins his quest to unite the Systems and restore order. While Sherri Caniff works to secure him legitimate power from the BASIC Board of Directors, Orion develops an entirely different form of power: Orion's Sword. His ambitions beg the question: Does the spirit of the Devil still possess Eppy Thatcher, or has it already moved on? It's a Brave New World ... and Grendel wants the helm. Re-presenting the original Grendel #34, with newly remastered color by Matt Hollingsworth and all-new cover art by Tim Sale.

32 pages, $3.50, in stores on May 19.

HELLSING VOLUME 3 TPB

By Kohta Hirano.

It's a siege. What's left of the Hellsing crew and their new team of hired bodyguards have traveled to South America to investigate the Millennium threat. While they crossed the border, parties unknown pulled some strings branding them as terrorists and matching a small country's power structure against the ultimate undead! Join them in a battle of blood, guts, ghouls, gore ... and a lot of Kohta Hirano's signature offbeat comedy. This punk-goth-vampire-action-comedy-fun-as-hell nightmare just keeps rolling, as Kohta has even more fun than he probably ought to. This series has enough style and strangeness to fuel ferociously fervent fandom.

192 pages, black and white, $13.95.

IRON EMPIRES VOLUME 2: SHEVA'S WAR TPB

By Christopher Moeller.

The Iron Empires: Eight weary nations, spanning three million light years of the Milky Way Galaxy. They are the withering remains of a human civilization once immeasurably vast. Their dying has not been quiet. Sheva's War, the second in the series of Christopher Moeller's acclaimed, masterfully painted Iron Empires graphic novels, propels us further into a distant future, into a turbulent age of war, terror, and corruption. You will follow a beautiful, but hardened, soldier on her campaign to repel an alien menace, as she faces a bitter struggle against insuperable odds. Unavailable since the comics series was originally published in 1994, Dark Horse makes Iron Empires available as a graphic novel for the first time.

168 pages, $17.95, in stores on June 30.

LAST TRAIN TO DEADSVILLE: A CAL MCDONALD MYSTERY #1

Written by Steve Niles and Kelley Jones.

Horror scribe Steve Niles joins artist Kelley Jones to bring you the follow-up to last year's mini-series Criminal Macabre, Last Train to Deadsville takes supernatural private dick Cal McDonald and his ghoulish partner Mo¹Lock on their weirdest adventure yet, when a teenage, mulleted weirdo from suburbia takes his occult fantasies a little -- okay, a lot -- to far. And Ozzy thought his train was crazy,

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 12.

OH MY GODDESS! #108

By Kosuke Fujishima.

"Sora Unchained," part 4 of 8. With the future of the Nekomi Tech Motor Club's leadership in question, Sora faces one of the greatest challenges of her cute, shy life--cart racing. While she may get a handle on dangerous speeds and tricky curves, will she adjust to a possible role as the club's Director? The "Sora Unchained" storyline puts her in the race of her life to find out, with all the complicated relationships, hilarious scenarios, and good-intentioned goddess magic that Kosuke Fujishima always delivers!

32 pages, black and white, $2.99, in stores on May 5.

SPYBOY: FINAL EXAM #1

By Peter David and Pop Mhan.

It's the series where everything happens! SpyBoy comes face to face with his greatest challenges ever--his senior prom, his graduation from high school ... and the revelation as to the truth about his mother! All this while going up against his greatest opponent ever: Spyguy.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 5.

STAR WARS: CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL. 1 TPB

By Haden Blackman, Ben Caldwell, Matt Fillbach and Shawn Fillbach.

Inspired by the Cartoon Network's Clone Wars cartoons, this new series uses the television show as a jumping-off point to tell new stories of heroism and villainy in the same stripped-down visual style. On the night-world of Nivek, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker must first overcome the limitations of fighting in the dark before they can take on the dreaded Shadowmen! Meanwhile, Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin discover that push can come to shove when using the Force to fight battledroids. And, fresh from leading an underwater assault against Separatist forces on the water planet of Mon Calamari, Jedi Master Kit Fisto and his remaining clone troops reach the surface to find a new threat awaiting them! Incredible action, hot art, and lightning-fast pacing are coming your way in this new take on the Star Wars galaxy.

96 pages, $6.95, in stores on June 23.

STAR WARS: EMPIRE #21

By Ron Marz and Tomas Giorelo, cover by Doug Wheatley.

Against Luke's better judgment, Leia has sought the help of an old boyfriend from Alderaan in finding a new location for the Rebel base. He's willing to provide the Alliance with the perfect spot‹but only if Leia will give up the Rebellion and join him in preserving a piece of their homeworld. Ordinarily, Leia's decision would be an easy one. But when a speeder crash strands her and her friend on a jungle moon, their need for each other in their struggle for survival leads to a conclusion that neither of them could have foreseen...

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 5.

STAR WARS: REPUBLIC #65

Written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema.

Mace Windu unleashed. In the aftermath of one of the battles of the Clone Wars, a new threat arises: the Jedi discover that someone has placed a bounty on Jedi‹the deader, the better. Rather than have his Jedi be targets on and off the battlefield, Mace Windu assembles a team of the toughest Jedi available. Their mission? Explain to the Bounty Hunters Guild, in no uncertain terms, that attacking Jedi is a very, very bad idea.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 26.

STEVE RUDE'S THE MOTH #2

By Steve Rude and Gary Martin.

You didn't listen to the warning about our last issue, did you? And you had to explain to your mommy how you got that whopping shiner! Well ... for The Moth #2 keep your head down because the action may smack you right between the eyes! American Liberty returns in this issue, and with her charming personality captures the heart of everyone in the circus.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 19.

SYN TPB

By Keith Giffen, Greg Titus, Julian Washburn and Timothy II.

In the future, on an Earth where humans have become extinct and machines rule the planet, a directive is given -- "know man." But when the directive is taken too far, and machines begin to act human, an enforcer is called in to remedy the situation. It is known as Form Optional Synthetic-240, an independent action search-and-destroy unit, tasked with hunting down and killing machines who seek to "know man" a little too well. But "she" thinks of herself as Syn, and is more human than most of those she hunts.

120 pages, $13.95, in stores on June 23.

ULTRAMAN TIGA #10

By Tony Wong and Khoo Fuk Lung, cover by UDON.

This is it--the final=issue blowout. The apocalypse has arrived, and it¹s all Rena and the former members of GUTS can do to stop a deadly downpour of missiles and warheads that's raining across the continent. As humanity needs his help more than ever, the Ultraman called "Tiga" has problems of his own as he faces down a terrifying enemy from his long-forgotten past. All bets on who's going to survive this battle are off, but one thing you can count on--this series goes out with a bang.

40 pages, $3.99, in stores on May 26.

USAGI YOJIMBO VOLUME 18: TRAVELS WITH JOTARO TPB and LTD. ED. HC

By Stan Sakai.

Throughout his journeys across feudal Japan, rabbit ronin Usagi has faced many dangers, crossed paths with some who have become his sworn enemies, and forged bonds of friendship stronger than any threat that might cross his path‹but now he does it with young Jotaro at his side. This 18th volume of internationally acclaimed Usagi Yojimbo collects issues #61-68 of the multi-award winning ongoing series, and continues the adventures as "Uncle" Usagi struggles with keeping a secret from Jotaro that everyone else seems to know. Not only do their travels bring the perils of the Neko Ninja (in hot pursuit of Chizu, ex-leader of their clan and friend to Usagi), they also have a close encounter with a new and deadly organization--the Koroshi League of Assassins. The beautiful thief Kitsune is up to her old tricks, and Usagi relates a story from his youth about a goblin swordmaster. Finally, an evil artist targets Jotaro with a possessed ink set in the three-part "Sumi-E" story, which features the return of Sasuke the Demon Queller.

208 pages, $15.95, in stores on June 9.

VAN HELSING

Written by Joshua Dysart, art by J. Alexander.

In a world where monsters inhabit man's deepest nightmares, evil has one name to fear: legendary monster hunter Van Helsing. Dark Horse Comics introduces a new horror comic book series inspired by Van Helsing, the upcoming major motion picture from Universal Pictures. In this special debut issue we find Van Helsing in Paris investigating a series of brutal mutilations. He confronts a mad doctor whose bizarre experiments have created a horrifying creature dwelling in the shadows of the sewer system.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 5.

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