PRESS RELEASE
Diamond Comic Distributors is proud to reveal the artwork from Eisner Award-winning creator Kelley Jones (Red Rain, Bloodstorm) for this year’s Halloween ComicFest (HCF) 2019 commemorative T-shirt. The T-Shirt, featured in the August issue of Diamond’s PREVIEWS catalog, is currently available for pre-order at comic shops, and will be available for purchase on October 16th.
Kelley Jones is best known for his collaborations with writer Doug Moench on their popular series of Elseworlds Batman tales, including the horror-tinged vampire-Batman stories Red Rain, Bloodstorm, and Crimson Mist, as well as Batman: Dark Joker—The Wild. Jones started his career at Marvel Comics in the mid-’80s, inking the Micronauts and then moving on to pencil Micronauts: The New Voyages for the bulk of the 20-issue run of the series.
But Jones’s first love has always been horror and the macabre, and he channeled that love into his Batman/Dracula stories, as well as his work redefining DC’s Deadman. He counted Bernie Wrightson as a close friend, and was honored to complete Frankenstein Alive, Alive!for IDW Publishing after Wrightson’s untimely death in 2017.
Jones’s original design for Halloween Comic Fest 2019 evokes the spirit of Wrightson, the classic movie monsters, and the artist’s own love for the genre in a one-of-a-kind image that fans can proudly wear year-round!
“When I was a kid, and didn’t know much about the world, there was one for sure thing I did know, and that was I loved Halloween more than any other holiday, by a long shot!” explained Jones. “It was in my bones and I was waiting all through the summer to pounce. It was a night where you were expected to stay up late, eat candy, watch monster movies and dress as one! And mom and dad approved, no less! And that’s what my illustration for this t-shirt is all about. You can have all of the other holidays, but I’ll still take good ol’ Halloween with its pumpkins and chocolate and things that go bump in the night!”
The HCF 2019 T-Shirt will be available in indigo blue in Men’s sizes small to XXL, in Women’s sizes X-small to XXL (MSRP: $14.99-$17.99), and in youth sizes small to large (MSRP: $11.99). The commemorative HCF T-Shirt, plus the complete listing of the HCF 2019 titles, are available in the August issue of PREVIEWS, releasing in comic shops July 31.
Comic fans are encouraged to check out halloweencomicfest.com over the coming months for more updates and information on the event, the available comics, and local retailer activities. Fans can also stay up-to-date with Halloween ComicFest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.