Image Comics has released a first look at Top Cow's animal rights & environmentalism crime/mystery one-shot A.R.C.: ANIMAL RIGHTS COLLECTIVE.

The press release follows:

Media Release -- Top Cow Productions, Inc., the company behind Witchblade, The Darkness, and Cyberforce, announce a new crime/mystery one-shot surrounding the subject of animal rights and environmentalism called, A.R.C. by Matt Hawkins, Paul Feinstein, Ryan Cady, Atilio Rojo, and Troy Peteri and featuring cover art by Stjepan Šejic.

A.R.C. Animal Rights Collective, is a concept developed by co-founder of Fine Stone Entertainment and travel journalist Paul Feinstein, who has written for a myriad of publications and media companies including Travel + Leisure, The BBC, TIME, and NBC/UNIVERSAL.

"As a travel writer, I have been all over the world and have had a front row seat to the devastation of our world's flora and fauna," said Feinstein. "A.R.C. is important because it sheds a giant light on the corrupt forces around the globe that are contributing to mass extinctions, illegal wildlife trade, the growing threat of animal-borne viruses, and climate change."

With Top Cow's President Matt Hawkins at the creative helm, Feinstein and the team uses the medium of fictional sequential storytelling to take readers into the world of animal rights and asks a very simple question: How do we stop illegal wildlife trading, mass extinctions, and preserve the sanctity of the natural world? The answer is A.R.C., led by wildlife champion Noah Eran who is an animal rights defender by day and animal rights vigilante by night. When the law can't take down the corruption, Noah's A.R.C. can.

"A.R.C. is a great opportunity for the team to tell a compelling and brutally honest story about the secret underbelly of poaching and the effects that lie in its wake. We pull no punches," said Hawkins.

Cady added: "I'm always happy to work with Top Cow, and I've been hoping to collaborate with Atilio Rojo on something for awhile now. When Matt and Paul approached me with this fascinating story and Atilio on board, I leapt at the chance! Fans of mine or Matt's other Top Cow books will dig this one, no doubt."

Illegal poaching is a billion-dollar industry, a black market trade violently interwoven with the bloody work of warlords and international traffickers. South African industrial heir Noah Ehran has dedicated himself to battling this evil on two fronts, in two separate lives. By day, he's an environmental lobbyist and aggressive corporate reformer-but by night, Noah leads A.R.C., the Animal Rights Collective, in an armed crusade against the criminal empires responsible!

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A.R.C. (one-shot) will be in comic shops on Wednesday, March 8 and also available for purchase on digital platforms, including Amazon, Apple Books, GlobalComix, and Google Play. Pre-Order before January 30. SRP: $4.99 Rated: Mature. A.R.C. (one-shot) Solicitation: PreviewsWorld Order Code: JAN230073.

ABOUT TOP COW

Top Cow Productions, Inc., 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.

ABOUT FINE STONE ENTERTAINMENT

Fine Stone Entertainment is a Colorado-based media and entertainment company that creates original content for film, television, graphic novels, and other entertainment properties.