PEARSON'S BODY BAGS COMES BACK IN JULY

[MattBrady]

12 Gauge Comics’ Shotgun Summer already covers Artxilla Tasty Treats and GunCandy, and today…the third shoe drops.

Body Bags by Jason Pearson.

After nearly ten years since it first was released, Pearson’s tale of bounty hunters, guns, fathers and daughters is coming back, collected as a two, double-sized issue collection.

Back in the day, the four issue miniseries published by Dark Horse was one of the more controversial projects to roll out of the mid ‘90s thanks to the high level of violence, as well as…well, Panda, the daughter of Mack.

To get the idea down in a nutshell, try the solicitation for the first 12 Gauge issue on for size:

The action begins when a rival “body bagger” goes after Mack (a.k.a. Clown Face) the best “bagger” in the business. Fuel is quickly added to the fire with the sudden arrival of Panda, Mack’s estranged daughter. How will the baddest man in Terminus, GA handle a teenage girl determined to follow in her daddy’s footsteps?

We caught up with 12 Gauge’s Keven Gardner for more on bringing back the classic.

“Body Bags has always been a book that I’ve wanted to see on the shelves again,” Gardner said. “It scares me to think that tons of today’s fans have never heard of this comic. It blew my socks off the first time I read it, and I’ve been wanting more ever since. One of my original goals when starting 12 Gauge was to see this happen, and luckily we’ve pulled it off.”

The inclusion of the book, as well as 12 Gauge’s friendship with Pearson was what convinced all the parties to bring the creator on as a full member of 12 Gauge, much like Brian Stelfreeze.

“Jason and Brian have been friends with Doug [Wagner] and me for years, so when he was receptive to getting Body Bags out there again, it just made sense to bring him into the fold. Obviously, he’s had offers from lots of publishers to reprint Body Bags, do a new series, or whatever, but it was never the right time for him… or the right deal. He has some stories he wants to tell, and we’ll be able to help him get his vision out to the fans, in its purest form. By that I mean no editorial interference - only advice, when asked, and no one dictating to Jason when his book will ship, or if he can reprint it, or whatever. Image is fantastic to deal with, because as long as we let them know in a timely fashion what we want to release and when, they’ll do everything they can to accommodate us.”

As for the format, Gardner said he had access in mind when 12 Gauge opted to repackage Body Bags as two 48-page issues, rather than a single trade. “I’ll be the first to say that we’re living in the era of the trade, but if I - as a fan - don’t have a clue what Body Bags is, do I really want to drop $15 bucks to find out if I like it? If I’m a retailer, how many trades do I order? This book has been out of print for a long time, so it’s hard to guess. New store owners may have no idea that the original issues sold out in days, and that both the book and Jason flew onto - and up - the Wizard Top Ten list almost immediately. Hopefully, this will allow fans to pick up the first book - 48 complete pages of art, with no ads - for a fair price, and then decide for themselves if they love it as much as we do.”

For the original (and new) fans of Body Bags, the reissue of the original material can be seen as something of a sign of things to come, according to Gardner. “Obviously, our goal here is more Body Bags. What 12 Gauge is offering Jason is a chance to help build a company. Body Bags can help put us on the map. It’s the same with Brian Stelfreeze and GunCandy.

“That said, one thing Jason wants to see right away is if the interest in Body Bags is still there. If the orders come in good on the reprints, then he’ll move full steam ahead on a new book. I’m pretty sure that will happen, because every person that walks up to him at a con asks him about Body Bags. And I mean all of them. I hate to ask people to buy the ‘Father’s Day’ story again, but hell, if you are a fan of this book, you’ll probably want it just to get the amazing covers! Jason won’t be getting paid upfront to do any new series, so he needs the reprints to sell so he can afford to do a new Body Bags book. I’ll help him as much as I can, but I don’t have tons of cash stashed away. One thing we all agreed upon – financially - was absolutely no outside investors, because they can get in the way. I’ve got enough money saved up to help these guys pay some bills while they draw, but I can only do so much. We’re all sacrificing in our own way to make 12 Gauge work, so if you want to see new Body Bags comics, help us out!”

Body Bags: Father’s Day #1 is a 48-page full color comic with no ads due in stores July 13th, with a cover price of $5.99. For more information on 12 Gauge, visit www.12gaugecomics.com

[LunarDaydreamer]

I haven't read the original issues in years, but remember adoring them at the time!

[jayb00gie]

Reprints are all well and good, but what's up with the new material.

BODY BAGS II-PANDA'S REVENGE… or something like that.

C'mon Jay!

[stlfan79]

Loved this series the first time. When I saw the pimps nose drop for the first time in issue 1 I glued to every page there after. Great to see they are putting it out again.

[Darth Tigris]

I remember reading Savage Dragon: Blood and Guts and thinking "this Pearson's pretty talented!" Never got to read this, though, as it was about as underordered a book as any. I'm sure it'll be underordered again too ...

[FIG]

Wow, some of the best news in a long while. I can't believe Redbird got canned but I will buy the stories over again to have them on my bookshelf. I hope Jason gets enough interest to start up Body Bags as an ongoing because I am definetly onboard for the ride.

[choisez]

Yay! More Pearson!!

-Eddy

[Bakema NL]

This was a very nice series. Something more should be done with it.

[mac b]

are the reprints going to include the short stories from the dark horse annuals?

[Volunteer]

I find it hard to call a reprint collection "coming back." More like "Still here." Call me when something new is released.

Volunteer

[KevenGardner]

Originally posted by mac b
are the reprints going to include the short stories from the dark horse annuals?

No, this is the original four issue series. Two 48 page books will get the entire Father's Day story reprinted with no ads, so it is a real bang for your buck. Don't worry, those other short stories will get printed down the road, and hopefully it will be in full color.

If my interview isn't clear, Jason is gearing up for a new Body Bags story, he just wants to make sure the interest is still there by releasing these reprints.

When you get a chance, please visit our new site:

12 GAUGE COMICS

[Pikachu007]

Originally posted by KevenGardner

If my interview isn't clear, Jason is gearing up for a new Body Bags story, he just wants to make sure the interest is still there by releasing these reprints.

Oh, the interest is there, wouldn't it be better to create a 16 page all new story and stick a $2.00 tag? That would show Jason is serious about this.

[jasinmartin]

Hands down, one of the top reasons I got back into comics. This series was amazing. Ahead of it's time... it holds up very well today.

Hopefully it does lead to more...

Love the new cover (though it's hard to top the Michael Golden originals)! Can't wait to see the other one...

And did Redbird really get completely cancelled? I thought I'd heard it might get resolicited without the Wildstorm-dohickey-title-thingy...

Must have more Pearson!!!

[Robert_Coyner]

Okay - I'm absolutely wet over that cover! Body Bags was one of my favorite titles to come from the 90s. And, I hope a new trade edition does eventually come down the pipeline that collects everything so far... In the meantime, even though my excitement is tempered by what happened with Redbird, this has me more excited that just about any other announcement in recent memory.

BTW, has anyone ever said what happened with the titles that went unreleased from the Blanc Noir line Gaijin studios was set to do? I remember Heretic did it's four issues, with Velocity in the backup... Whatever happened to the minis of No One, Be Brave and Velocity from Adam Hughes, Cully Hamner and Brian Stelfreeze? I know Hamner has said at some point (I think when working on Warren Ellis's Red) he would like to complete Be Brave and release it. What about Hughes' and Stelfreeze's work?

[Robert_Coyner]

Regarding Redbird being released by another publisher, Redbird is a pre-existing Wildstorm character - she was from a title called Black Ops, I believe. If Pearson still plans to release it, he would need to change the names, and I would think the likeness, wouldn't he? Beyond that though, the rumourmill - All the Rage at SBComics said it was pulled b/c Wildstorm lost faith in Pearson's ability to complete the series.

[jayb00gie]

Originally posted by Robert_Coyner
Beyond that though, the rumourmill - All the Rage at SBComics said it was pulled b/c Wildstorm lost faith in Pearson's ability to complete the series.

How shocking

I really hate him. All that talent and a small catalog.

[fredeur]

but hell, if you are a fan of this book, you’ll probably want it just to get the amazing covers!

Yeah!!! \o/
I just love Body Bags, i'm going te repurchase it (i'm so weak /o\ )

[Robert_Coyner]

Originally posted by jayb00gie
How shocking

I really hate him. All that talent and a small catalog.

Well, to be fair, this came from a rumourpage...

Plus, I would love to see more Body Bags, and more work from Pearson in general, but not if it's watered down. When his work does come out, it's always good. Check out his issue of Global Freq for instance... And, he's not the only artist who takes a bit of time with projects, Travis Charest is another one who makes me cry while I in the end am always glad for the wait.

[KevenGardner]

Originally posted by Pikachu007
Oh, the interest is there, wouldn't it be better to create a 16 page all new story and stick a $2.00 tag? That would show Jason is serious about this.

Jason is ready to get the short stories behind him and move on to bigger and better things, so any new Body Bags story will be a full comic at the least... no more shorts for a long time. Not that it would be a bad idea to do something like that, but since this book has been out of print for so long, we want to make sure the new readers have access to the original story before we worry about the next step.

[stlfan79]

Originally posted by KevenGardner
Jason is ready to get the short stories behind him and move on to bigger and better things, so any new Body Bags story will be a full comic at the least... no more shorts for a long time. Not that it would be a bad idea to do something like that, but since this book has been out of print for so long, we want to make sure the new readers have access to the original story before we worry about the next step.

Sounds like a good idea. I am sure it will be well received to new readers, I know I will support it again. Just as long as Jason gets everything done before soliciting a new series it should be a smash, any latenss could make it a bust.

[beta-ray]

I'm not so much into too much blood and violence... I did love the covers from back in the day and do believe Pearson is very talented. Hope to see more from him in the future.

[Pikachu007]

Originally posted by stlfan79
Sounds like a good idea. I am sure it will be well received to new readers, I know I will support it again. Just as long as Jason gets everything done before soliciting a new series it should be a smash, any latenss could make it a bust.

You mean like Adam Hughes, Joe Mad, Scott Campbell? I seem to recall Body Bags was also constantly late many moons ago... I'll believe it when I see it on the stands... All that talent and they can't meet deadlines.... Sigh.

[AlexLothos]

If I had the money I'd buy these again, but for now I'm happy with my old singles and my original tpb of the story. Good luck with this re-release of the series and know that an interest is still around for a new Body Bags story. I'll be first in line for a new series.

[Tenzel Kim]

Originally posted by KevenGardner
Jason is ready to get the short stories behind him and move on to bigger and better things, so any new Body Bags story will be a full comic at the least... no more shorts for a long time. Not that it would be a bad idea to do something like that, but since this book has been out of print for so long, we want to make sure the new readers have access to the original story before we worry about the next step.

That's all fine and well, but how is Pearson going to make sure the interest is still there by you releasing old stuff? I loved Body Bags and bought the book when it was originally published and since I've only got so much mone to spend on comics I'd rather spend it on material I don't already have. So while I'd be damn interested in seeing new Body Bags material he wouldn't know so by looking at the numbers for this reprint.

And while I'm enthusiastic about the news of a possible new Body Bags series I am kind of worried how long it would take. Aside from a a number of covers here and there it doesn't seem like he's been able to commit to more than about one issue a year lately. I really hate to come off this negative but being a big fan of Pearson I must admit that I'm a bit disappointed with his output (or rather lack thereof) during the last couple of years.

Tenz.

[DogfoodSoul]

I bought the Body Bags miniseries when it was released, and i liked it.Execpt that scene in the first issue where one of the main characters stab a pregnant woman in the stomach.UGH.