Jake Roth The F1rst Hero Returns

Kickstarter proved effective for Anthony Ruttgaizer, seeing as how folks got behind his work the F1rst Hero. Now, said hero is back in a new miniseries called The F1rst Hero: Fight for Your Life. The story catches up with Jake Roth, the titular hero, who is the only person to manifest superpowers and not lose his mind. For the miniseries, Ruttgaizer is joined by Fred C. Stressing for lettering/coloring and Danny Zabbal on art. Not only that, but Ring of Honor wrestler Raymond Rowe gave his likeness for a new villain named Odinson.

"FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE picks up about a week or so after the end of THE MONSTER (Volume 1)," said Ruttgaizer. "Jake is still coming to grips with doing battle with both the U.S. Extrahuman Task Force and Fat Alvin's gang of extrahuman thugs all of which ended with the death of Scott Winters, the boy he was trying to save." The series manages to balance both the wonder of exploring a life with superpowers and the repercussions of those abilities. "Keeping [Jake's] powers a secret means he needs to carry on with 'life as usual.' But the reappearance of some very old friends means that life Jake's life is about to take another very unusual turn."

"Danny Zabbal is one of the most talented artists I've ever known. Much like writing Volume 1 was for me, drawing Volume 2 is the fulfillment of a long-held dream for Danny." Ruttgaizer's praise for his collaborator continued; "Danny's art is razor-sharp and perfect tailored to this chapter of Jake Roth's life as THE F1RST HERO." When asked about Rowe's involvement, Ruttgaizer said, "Raymond Rowe has been a friend of mine going back to the very beginnings of his professional wrestling career over a decade ago. Ray is a straight shooter and a legit bad-ass and I've enjoyed watching him grow from rookie performer all those years ago, to now, when he's become a main event attraction on national television with Ring Of Honor." Their real life friendship inspired Ruttgaizer to "cast" the wrestler as a character in his story. "When I was envisioning a one-man wrecking machine for this story arc, Ray came instantly to mind as a model for Odinson. Ray has been excited and supportive during the creative process."

"We're very proud of our burgeoning superhero line at Action Lab," said Vito Delsante, Associate Director of Marketing. "THE F1RST HERO is a big part of that. It's unique and fresh and is a big anchor to our line."

Full press release below.

JAKE ROTH, THE F1RST HERO RETURNS!
One man stands between us and crazed superpowered humans in the return of Anthony Ruttgaizer's hit series

Pittsburgh, PA - Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Anthony Ruttgaizer's THE F1RST HERO is back with a new mini series. Entitled, THE F1RST HERO: FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE, the story catches up with Jake Roth, the titular hero, who is the only person to manifest superpowers and not lose his mind.

"FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE picks up about a week or so after the end of THE MONSTER (Volume 1)," said Ruttgaizer. "Jake is still coming to grips with doing battle with both the U.S. Extrahuman Task Force and Fat Alvin's gang of extrahuman thugs all of which ended with the death of Scott Winters, the boy he was trying to save." The series manages to balance both the wonder of exploring a life with superpowers and the repercussions of those abilities. "Keeping [Jake's] powers a secret means he needs to carry on with 'life as usual.' But the reappearance of some very old friends means that life Jake's life is about to take another very unusual turn."

Joining Ruttgaizer and letterer/colorist Fred C. Stressing on this adventure is new artist, Danny Zabbal, and Ring of Honor wrestler, Raymond Rowe, who gave his likeness to new villain, Odinson. "Danny Zabbal is one of the most talented artists I've ever known.  Much like writing Volume 1 was for me, drawing Volume 2 is the fulfillment of a long-held dream for Danny." After spending many years as a graphic designer and video game artist, this will be Zabbal's first work in the comic book medium. Ruttgaizer's praise for his collaborator continued; "Danny's art is razor-sharp and perfect tailored to this chapter of Jake Roth's life as THE F1RST HERO." When asked about Rowe's involvement, Ruttgaizer said, "Raymond Rowe has been a friend of mine going back to the very beginnings of his professional wrestling career over a decade ago.  Ray is a straight shooter and a legit bad-ass and I've enjoyed watching him grow from rookie performer all those years ago, to now, when he's become a main event attraction on national television with Ring Of Honor." Their real life friendship inspired Ruttgaizer to "cast" the wrestler as a character in his story. "When I was envisioning a one-man wrecking machine for this story arc, Ray came instantly to mind as a model for Odinson. Ray has been excited and supportive during the creative process."

"We're very proud of our burgeoning superhero line at Action Lab," said Vito Delsante, Associate Director of Marketing. "THE F1RST HERO is a big part of that. It's unique and fresh and is a big anchor to our line."

Issue One is currently being solicited in the June edition of Previews and has two covers; a painted cover by Zabbal and a variant by Jerry Gaylord (Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Return). THE F1RST HERO: Volume One - THE MONSTER is also currently being resolicted to coincide with the new series release.

For more information, retailers can contact Vito Delsante at vdelsante@actionlabcomics.com. For press and conventions you can reach Jamal Igle at jigle@actionlabcomics.com.

ABOUT ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT- Formed in 2010 with the purpose of pooling their collective talents into a single, powerful entity, the members of Action Lab Entertainment have countless years in multimedia publishing, design, and business.  Their first release, Fracture, was successfully funded through Kickstarter and since then they have continued their mission to produce high quality, genre-spanning entertainment.  Since its formation, the accolades for A.L.E continue to build on a daily basis.  Among its more popular titles are all ages material like the Eisner, Glyph, Shel Dorf Award nominated series PRINCELESS, NFL RUSHZONE (based on the Nickelodeon Television series), Jamal Igle's MOLLY DANGER, Artist/ Writer Jeremy Dale’s hit series SKYWARD, and Gayle Middleton’s (My Little Pony, The Littlest Pet Shop) monstrously adorable VAMPLETS. Action Lab’s Mature Readers imprint ACTION LAB DANGER ZONE continues to push the envelope of comics entertainment with titles as varied as EHMM THEORY and Dan Mendoza’s over the top horror-comedy ZOMBIE TRAMP, THE FINAL PLAGUE and BO, PLUSHY GANGSTA.