This has been a long time coming, and I’m super excited to hear that Dark Horse Comics is publishing Francesco Francavilla’s Black Beetle series that has played out on Francavilla’s website for the last couple of years. It all plays out in Dark Horse Presents #11, and the complete press release (plus pretty art) after the jump.
Press Release
Adding an exciting new layer to Dark Horse Presents, Dark Horse Comics is proud to announce a new three-part story by New York Times best-selling artist for Batman, and current Captain America artist, Francesco Francavilla: The Black Beetle!
The Black Beetle is centered on a pulp-noir character and takes place in a fictional universe that’s based in Colt City. Francavilla published several stories online and even put out an ashcan. When the ashcan sold out, Francesco quickly realized that many fans were interested in exploring this world with him. It was only a matter of time before Dark Horse approached him about bringing some Black Beetle tales to Dark Horse Presents!
“I’m working on a 24-page story, titled ‘Night Shift’ that will be spread over three issues of Dark Horse Presents. I am hugely influenced by pulp stories of the ‘30s and ‘40s, and wanted to develop a series that used that influence as a jumping-off point to explore some modern storytelling with fun twists. I think this will be a great introduction to readers who are new to this character and universe, but will also be an exciting new adventure for those who’ve been reading the online stories over the years,” Francesco states.
“As a huge fan of pulp and noir, working on my own characters and stories really gives me free reign to explore this world and create lots of fun scenarios and thrilling situations. The stories are definitely full of mystery and intrigue, plus I get to give The Black Beetle lots of cool and funky gadgets. ‘Night Shift’ promises to be full of action, excitement, danger, and double-crosses, so I am overjoyed to see this new tale in print, and hope this is the first of many more to come in Dark Horse Presents.”
For more on Francesco Francavilla’s art, check out his official website, www.francescofrancavilla.com, and his pulp blog, http://pulpsunday.blogspot.com.
Dark Horse Presents #11 is on sale April 18th, 2012!
