Graveyard of Empires #1 Due This Summer

Afghanistan has a lot that it's known for and not much of it's very good unfortunately. The country is the latest inspiration for a brand new series from Image called Graveyard of Empires where Marines are faced with enemy forces as well as the undead. Writer Mark Sable is joined by illustrator Paul Azaceta in the new series that combines current military events with the intense horror.

"Despite the many conflicts the US military is engaged in, there is currently a real dearth of war comics," Sable explained. "I'm honored to return to Image, a publisher brave enough to tackle a comic that literally rips the face off of modern warfare."

"Mark and I researched the hell out of this book to make the military aspect as authentic as possible," added Azaceta. "But don't let that fool you – this is heart-pounding survival horror at its best!"

In Graveyard of Empires a young lieutenant arrives at Combat Outpost Alamo in Afgahanistan. There's an old adage that, in war, when you kill one insurgent you create ten more by angering his family and friends. Graveyard of Empires twists that adage in the sense that here, if you kill one insurgent he comes back from the dead to infect ten fellow marines.

"Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta got off to a truly auspicious start with GROUNDED, and it's great to have them working together again at Image on GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES," Stephenson said. "They've come up with a fantastic fusion of horror and war comics that's probably best described as Robert Kirkman meets Harvey Kurtzman. Really, really excellent stuff here."

Graveyard of Empires #1 hits stores June 15 for $3.99. Interiors and full press release after the jump.

SURVIVING A GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES
Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta Return to Image with a Grisly New Series This June

BERKELEY, CA – 30 March 2011 – From Alexander the Great to the Soviet Union, war-torn Afghanistan has brought the world's greatest armies to their knees, earning the nation its infamous reputation as the “graveyard of empires." With the debut of this new series from Image Comics, the Marines will not only be in danger from enemy forces, but also from the undead!

Mark Sable, writer of Unthinkable, Teen Titans: Cold Case and Two-Face: Year One returns to Image with GROUNDED co-creator and Amazing Spider-Man artist Paul Azaceta for an all-new series that combines current military events with stark horror.

"Despite the many conflicts the US military is engaged in, there is currently a real dearth of war comics," Sable explained. "I'm honored to return to Image, a publisher brave enough to tackle a comic that literally rips the face off of modern warfare."

"Mark and I researched the hell out of this book to make the military aspect as authentic as possible," added Azaceta. "But don't let that fool you – this is heart-pounding survival horror at its best!"

In GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, when a young lieutenant arrives at Combat Outpost Alamo, a remote outpost in Afghanistan, he learns a new kind of insurgent math. It’s said that in war, when you kill one insurgent, you create ten more by angering his family and friends. In this story, when you kill one, he comes back from the dead to infect ten of your fellow Marines.

"Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta got off to a truly auspicious start with GROUNDED, and it's great to have them working together again at Image on GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES," Stephenson said. "They've come up with a fantastic fusion of horror and war comics that's probably best described as Robert Kirkman meets Harvey Kurtzman. Really, really excellent stuff here."

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES #1 (APR110400), a 32-page full color horror/survival comic that will appeal to fans of The Hurt Locker and THE WALKING DEAD, will be available for sale in a comic shop near you on June 15, 2011 for $3.99.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.