SKULLKICKERS, VOL. 4: EIGHTY EYES ON AN EVIL ISLAND TP

story JIM ZUB
art EDWIN HUANG & MISTY COATS
cover EDWIN HUANG & ESPEN GRUNDETJERN

JULY 10
160 PAGES / FC / T
$16.99

The fourth SKULLKICKERS adventure is madcap island mayhem with tropical terror, savage stupidity, beach brawls and jungle jams alongside surprising revelations about the SKULLKICKERS mythos.

Collects SKULLKICKERS #18-23 (including the five ‘unbooted’ issues Uncanny, Savage, Mighty, All-New Secret, and Dark Skullkickers Dark).

Over on Comic Book Junkie they have a new article discussing the strange and sarcastic solicitations I put together to help advertise Skullkickers in the Diamond comic distribution catalogue. It’s nice having the spotlight shine on this normally hidden part of the process. Thanks, guys!

Seth Breedlove from Ancillary Characters has a solid review of Skullkickers Treasure Trove and how our ridiculous reboot promotion brought him on board the series. Give it a read.

Our latest issue arrived Wednesday and it looks like we’re on a roll! Critics and readers seem quite happy with our story, art and adjectives.

• Newsarama: “10/10 Overall, it’s not often that a comic can blend an action story that is not only fun to read but genuinely funny.”

• Unleash the Fanboy: “4.5/5 I am SOLD on this series. I can’t believe I’m so late to the party. Jim and company have an awesome thing going and I highly recommend you pick up this issue.”

• Fanboy Comics: “If you like your fantasy and action with a good dose of humor, read Savage Skullkickers #1 today, and then go out and buy the back issues of Skullkickers. Just a side note, you will have to fight me for them.”

• Page and Panel: “By the end of this issue, long-time readers will be grinning from ear-to-ear”…”This is like a Skullkickers’ love letter to Skullkickers, about Skullkickers, by the Skullkickers crew”

• Capeless Crusader: “THIS BOOK ROCKS! I’m convinced Skullkickers has something for pretty much everyone”

• Gamma Squad: “The comic you should be reading this week”…”Skullkickers is not a profound book. It’s just funny. Very, very funny, and sometimes, that’s really all a comic book needs to be.”

• Comic Booked: “4/5 A rare gem in the racks of comics that people should not overlook.”

• One Quest: “8/10 I really can’t say enough just how much fun Skullkickers is, and I’m pretty disappointed with myself for waiting so long to get started with it.”

• Comic Vine: “4/5 Overall, I love this book and you will too. I highly recommend it.”

• Comic Bastards: “4/5 The art is fantastic; visually the style is very pleasing to the eye. The book is colorful and looks very polished and the panels look good.”

• Omnicomic: “The book feels like one ongoing joke that’s always on for the reader’s enjoyment.”

• Nerdlocker: “4/5 Honestly, I had a blast reading this.”

• Sound On Sight: “…the crackling dialogue eventually materializes in full and proves complementary to the colorful art style.”

• I Smell Sheep: “5/5 I’m instantly in love with this series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Comic Book Resources has a spiffy 6 page preview of SAVAGE SKULLKICKERS #1 (aka. Skullkickers #20)! Click on through and get your first taste of savage-ness!

This weekend Edwin and I will be in Annapolis, Maryland for a special Savage Skullkickers #1 launch signing party at Third Eye Comics! It’s also International Tabletop Day so we’ll be playing board games, card games and RPGs (especially Skullkickers-Munchkin).

It’s going to be an amazing event. If you live in Maryland you need to make your way to Third Eye this Saturday!

On the left is Marvel’s previously released Savage Wolverine #1, on the right is Savage Skullkickers #1, arriving in stores this Wednesday. Don’t be confused. They’re both great comics.

Frank Cho, artist and writer on Savage Wolverine, is top notch talent and a great guy. We thank him for being a good sport after Edwin and I homaged the bejezus out of his amazing cover art.

Anyways, SAVAGE SKULLKICKERS, make sure you pick your copy up on Wednesday!

A DARKER SIDE OF SKULLKICKERS IN JUNE
DARK SKULLKICKERS DARK #1 is dark, possibly gritty

This June, Image Comics beats a horse to death and you’re all invited to watch! It’s a new comic that’s not new at all… but it is dark. “How dark?” you ask? It’s so dark we had to use the word twice – DARK SKULLKICKERS DARK!

“This may be the worst thing we’ve ever done,” said Image PR and Marketing Director Jennifer de Guzman. “It’s a pale reflection of the industry’s need to spin rebooted series through endless hype, turning the crazed hamster wheel of entertainment promotion until it’s fallen apart. Good-bye, integrity.”

DARK SKULLKICKERS DARK #1, written by old industry pariah Jim Zub and drawn by young pencil jockey Edwin Huang, wraps up the fourth story arc of SKULLKICKERS, the series people keep saying they’ve heard about but haven’t had a chance to try yet but, dangit, they will at some point if they see the collections on sale or something.

“Fun comic books are a thing of days past,” said series creator Zub. “In order to grab a modern audience I’ve dipped into the darkness of my own heart and spilled my blood upon the pages of this sequential masterpiece. Oh yeah, there’s beer in it too.”

If you’re one of the few and proud collectors of SKULLKICKERS irritated that you won’t have a SKULLKICKERS #23 to add to your collection, fret thee not. In addition to the regular “Dark Dark” cover we’re offering a special “issue #23 variant” B cover to keep your collection copacetic. We’re looking out for you, baby.

We’ve dug as deep as we can go. We’ve entered the darkness. DARK SKULLKICKERS DARK #1 will be available in June wherever dark comics are sold. Pre-order it now from the April issue of Previews. Order the old trades too. They’re pretty good.