Media Release -- Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that Dale Keown's classic hero, Pitt, will make his return to comics in the long awaited crossover event The Darkness/Pitt. The three-issue mini-series reunites Pitt creator and artist Dale Keown (Hulk: The End) with writer Paul Jenkins (Captain America, Mythos), who worked together on the second volume of The Darkness. The first issue of The Darkness/Pitt is scheduled for release in August 2009.
First published by Image Comics in 1993, Pitt is a human-alien hybrid genetically engineered to serve as a killing machine for an alien race known as the Creed. Dale Keown continued self-publishing Pitt under his own company, Full Bleed Studios, in 1995. After publishing twenty issues, Keown put Pitt on hold to work for other companies, drawing The Darkness with writer Paul Jenkins for Top Cow Productions and The Hulk for Marvel Entertainment. Since the regular series ended in 1998, fans of the character have had to make do with limited appearances by Pitt as a guest star in other books.
The story behind The Darkness/Pitt follows Pitt and his human half-brother Tim on their mission to New York to track down those infected by an alien virus. But mob boss and current bearer of the mystical power of The Darkness, Jackie Estacado, doesn't permit anything to go down in his neighborhood unless he knows about it. When the two forces attract the unwanted attention of the Federal Government, mayhem ensues!
"Darkness/Pitt has been a labor of love but it has been well worth it. As always, I'm excited to work with Dale on Jackie Estacado, a character we're so familiar with, and I'm gratified he's allowed me the opportunity to work with characters so near and dear to his heart in Pitt and Tim," commented writer Jenkins, "The book looks as beautiful as I always hoped it would, and I trust fans will forgive me for bringing a voice to some of Dale's most beloved creations."
"Fans have waited patiently for Darkness/Pitt and good things come to those that wait," added Filip Sablik, Top Cow Publisher, "It's great to see two great creators like Paul and Dale return to characters they know inside and out. These guys are packing this series with action, horror, humor, and jaw-dropping art from the top to bottom of every page."
The first issue of The Darkness/Pitt will offer two cover variants: one by series artist Keown and another by Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade).
About Top Cow Productions Inc.
Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry's Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT's #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow's other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow's other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.
