Press Release
New legends will be forged! Award-winning publisher Archaia Entertainment is excited to announce the launch of Volume 2 of the Eisner Award-winning anthology miniseries Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard. The first of four issues is set to debut in May 2013. Mouse Guard is the best-selling fantasy comic book series created by Michigan-based David Petersen about a group of elite warrior mice who serve to protect and guide the common mice under their care.
“After winning the Eisner Award for the first volume, the talent that David has brought to the table for the second volume of Legends is incredible,” said Stephen Christy, Editor-in-Chief of Archaia. “Between industry legends like Stan Sakai, Bill Willingham, and Rick Geary to amazing up-and-comers like Cory Godbey, Mouse Guard fans are going to have a lot to look forward to in this miniseries.”
As in the first volume, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Vol. 2 finds a group of mice at the June Alley Inn trying to outdo one another in a storytelling competition, spinning typically fantastic tales of the Mouse Guard and their adventures. After all, the mouse that tells the best story gets their bar tab cleared! Petersen writes and illustrates the tavern scenes, while each contributor (or team of contributors) writes and illustrates the different mouse tales.
Petersen has assembled another all-star lineup for this four-issue miniseries. The contributors to issue #1 of Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Vol. 2 include Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo), Ben Caldwell (The Dare Detectives!), and the team of writer Nick Tapalansky and illustrator Alex Eckman-Lawn (Awakening). Subsequent issues will include contributions from Christian Slade (Korgi), Rick Geary (The Adventures of Blanche), Jemma Salume (Unicorn Life Cycle), Jackson Sze (concept art on films like The Avengers and Iron Man 3), Cory Godbey (Fraggle Rock, the upcoming Jim Henson’s Labyrinth), Eric Canete (Fear Itself: Spider-Man), C.P. Wilson III (The Stuff of Legend), Bill Willingham (Fables), and fantasy illustrator Justin Gerard. Archaia will release the hardcover collection in late Fall of 2013.
“It’s been amazing to have people I admire write and draw stories for Mouse Guard,” said David Petersen. “Getting the behind-the-scenes view of their process is a treat for me. These contributors are putting together some great stories and I’m anxious for the fans to get to see what I’ve been watching come together!”
The first volume of Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard spent five weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list and won the Eisner Award for Best Anthology in 2011. A new printing will be available for sale in June (ISBN: 978-1-932386-94-3; Diamond Order Code MAR130807).
Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Vol. 2 issue #1 is available for pre-order now at your local comic book shop. To pre-order, provide your retailer with this Diamond Order Code: MAR130802. To find your closest comic book shop, visit www.comicshoplocator.com.
About Archaia Entertainment, LLC
Archaia is a multi-award-winning graphic novel publisher with more than 75 renowned publishing brands, including such domestic and international hits as Mouse Guard, Rust, Cow Boy, Cursed Pirate Girl, Gunnerkrigg Court, and Artesia. Archaia has also published an entire line of graphic novels in partnership with The Jim Henson Company, including the multiple award-winning Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand and such beloved tales as The Dark Crystal, The Storyteller, and Fraggle Rock. Alongside these celebrated titles, Archaia has released English translations of numerous renowned foreign titles to much fanfare, including The Killer, Sergio Toppi’s Sharaz-De, and The Secret History.
In 2012, Archaia was honored with six Harvey Award nominations, two Harvey Awards, six Eisner nominations, and three Eisner Awards (Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand won for Best Graphic Album–New, Best Penciller/Inker, and Best Publication Design). Also in 2012, Archaia earned both Gold and Silver awards from ForeWord Reviews. Archaia was honored with nine 2011 Eisner Awards nominations and two Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album and Best Anthology.
In addition to its partnership with The Jim Henson Company, Archaia has forged creative partnerships with storytellers in all facets of the entertainment industry, resulting in print and digital expansions of such noted properties as Bleedout and HAWKEN (video games), Immortals and Planet of the Apes (film), and Space: 1999 (television).
Archaia has built an unparalleled reputation within the creator community for producing meaningful, transformative content, building one of the industry’s most visually stunning and eclectic slates of graphic novels
