DSTLRY has announced its next wave of comics, revealing three brand new titles from high-profile creators, including Brian Azzarello, Stephanie Phillips, Chip Zdarsky, Ryan Stegman, and more.
As with all DSTLRY titles the three series – Life, Time Waits, and The Missionary – will be released in both print and as digital collectibles. No fixed release dates have been announced as yet, though all three will launch later this summer.
Zdarsky’s involvement seems especially notable – the writer/artist, who is currently scripting the main monthly Batman comic for DC, will be co-writing Time Waits, which is described as the first of four different projects he will work on for DSTLRY.
Here’s what we know about the new titles so far…
Life
Life is an innovative-sounding new “sci-fi noir space opera” from writers Brian Azzarello and Stephanie Phillips – writing together for the first time – along with artist Danijel Žeželj and colorist Lee Loughridge. Described as “a masterfully crafted flip book,” each issue will tell a single story from two separate perspectives. Here’s the synopsis:
“In the future, a death penalty will be considered an act of kindness, as covert experiments have forced criminals with multiple life sentences to live all their time to full term. For the ‘Casanova Killer,’ that means living out the nearly 2,400 years of his 32 life sentences mining on a distant prison planet alongside some of humanity’s most heinous offenders. Years pass… Decades turn to centuries, abandoned, the prisoners are shocked to see a ship approaching, filled with thieves hoping their next big score is on the planet’s long-dead mine. They have no idea that the prisoners are still alive. While the prisoners scheme to find a way off planet, the thieves plan the biggest score of their careers.”
Time Waits
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Time Waits is co-written by Chip Zdarsky and David Brothers, drawn by artist Marcus To, colored by Matt Wilson, and lettered by Ariana Maher. The series, described by DSTLRY co-founders Chip Mosher and David Steinberger as “an imminently cool and character-rich slice of genre fiction” follows a time-traveling mercenary, Blue, who tries to leave his life of violence behind when he travels to the present day and falls in love. But Blue’s former bosses won’t let him go easily, and it’s not long before he has to take on a squad of soldiers from the future.
“It’s been an amazing process to explore the different lives and eras of Time Waits with David and Marcus,” Zdarsky said in a statement. “There’s a huge tapestry of story here and we’re beyond excited to reveal how these characters collide – often with huge explosions expertly crafted by Marcus – throughout Time Waits.”
“Drawing this book has been an absolute blast. I have been able to flex my character acting muscles as well as try something different with my storytelling in DSTLRY’s oversized format,” Marcus To added. “I loved drawing these characters interacting with each other in both calm and violent ways, and Chip and David have created a winding, surprising story that’s hard to put down.”
The Missionary
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Venom, Superior Spider-Man, and X-Men writer Ryan Stegman teams up with Batman artist Jason Howard for this new horror comic, described as being for fans of Preacher and The Exorcist, about a devout Christian who must reconcile with his dark side when he encounters a demon. Here’s the synopsis:
“Bryce Hunter is a devoutly religious man whose faith is shattered when he catches his wife being…intimate with an Elder from his church. This harrowing event sends Bryce spiraling into the hands of a demonic entity named Uvydus. Instead of rejecting possession, Bryce accepts Uvydus. Bryce wants to learn to be ‘bad’ and Uvydus wants to be ‘less than completely evil.’ But before Bryce can use this new partnership to live a little, the world’s greatest Exorcist sees Bryce as his greatest challenge. But that’s not even the worst of it as a murderous group of demons breaks free from Hell and threatens to re-shape earth into a kingdom over which they rule!”
“Jason and I are having a hell of a time grappling with eternal questions of ethics and spirituality, but we’re also making The Missionary as exciting as possible,” said Stegman in a statement. “Jason is doing the work of his career and I can’t wait for you to see these tortured souls on their missions of damnation.”
“The Missionary has been an absolute blast to bring to life,” said artist Jason Howard. “Ryan has made a blockbuster that transcends heaven and hell with a very human heart, and I’ve had an amazing time putting it on the page.”
Life, Time Waits, and The Missionary will all be published by DSTLRY later this summer.
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