BODY BAGS RETURNS WITH NEW STORIES IN NOVEMBER & JANUARY

[MattBrady]

Think of it as the experiment that worked. Back when Newsarama reported on Body Bags’ return via 12 Gauge Comics and Image, 12 Gauge’s Keven Gardner and BB creator Jason Pearson said that the reissue of the miniseries in two collected issues was a test to see if there was still interest in the property. If there was, Pearson said that he’d be up for returning to the father-daughter assassin team for another go.

Let’s just say there was interest, and two new Body Bags projects are coming up as a result – one in November and another in January.

“It was kind of wild because I gave Jason a ‘best case’ number over a year ago on what I thought the 1st reprint could possibly do, and it came in a few hundred copies over that number,” Gardner told Newsarama. “We got the orders in on the second issue the other day, and they were even better than we expected. I was absolutely thrilled. It’s great to see the fans ask their retailers to order them the book, and seeing retailers believe they can sell copies off of the rack. We couldn’t be more pleased!

“The true fans have just been incredibly supportive. I’d say over 90% of the guys that already own the book, that we’ve talked with online and at shows, are buying it again just to get a new copy and to show Jason how much they love the characters. They want new Body Bags stories, plain and simple, and they told us loud and clear. The retailers that have been around for a while remember how fast the original series sold out, and they know the potential is there for this to be a big seller for them. Guys that are new on the scene are just excited to get a chance to sell it, because many of them bought it when they were in high school in 1996 and ’97.”

For Pearson, who hasn’t seen much work of length out in recent months, the news from Gardner was well-received. “I wasn’t sure that this would be a book that would be remembered ten years later,” the creator said. “It’s very flattering to see the level of response we got on the reprints.”

As for the payoff – November will see Body Bags: 3 The Hard Way, which will include a new 20 page story called “Hit ‘Da Switches,” as well as two older short stories that will be re-printed and in color for the first time ever. After The Hard Way, Pearson will produce a 48 page, all new Body Bags one-shot in January.

“We’ll see how things are going at that point, but there will be a ‘Shotgun Summer’ Body Bags event in 2006, that’s for sure,” Gardner said. “We’ll be updating things when we can at www.12gaugecomics.com, so fans can keep up with Body Bags there all the time.”

Pearson spilled a few more details on the new November story, “Hit ‘Da Switches:” “The first story will be a little less than a year after “Father’s Day”. This story will showcase the one element of Body Bags that hasn’t been examined… Mack’s car; ‘DA BOSS.’”

Admitting that he’s hip deep in the script to the upcoming one-shot, Pearson said that he’s had no trouble reconnecting to Clown Face and his daughter, Panda. “They’ve been running around in my head for almost a decade, so my only concern is having enough pages to let them speak,” Pearson said. “In that regard, I’ve got plans and plans, and want to keep at this as long as it takes to tell my story. The series is not infinite, and there will be an ending. That being said, there is a lot that is going to happen to these characters before I get to that.

“Unlike 1997, after the original story wrapped up, I’ve got lots of stories planned. If sales stay at a good level, there will be lots of Body Bags action coming your way.”

[dr fate]

I really dug the first run.I will look forward the next.

[choisez]

Ouch. Clownface and Panda always get their man one way or another based on that cover. It hurts to think about that poor guy under the car, but they look like they're loving every minute of it. Good stuff.

And as much as the initial orders exceeded expecatations, I'm sure the new series will do even better.

-Eddy

[Travel Exiter]

Pearson's work can, at times, be utterly amazing. This really is the proper avenue for him.
Even if its not 'BodyBags' some sort of creator owned property would be best for him
I'd like to see more artists take this route.

[fredeur]

Youhou!!!!!! \o/ \o/

[Greg O]

This is brilliant news!!!

I'm one of the longtime fans whose picking up Body Bags in it's third incarnation just for Jason's covers. His recent work on the Ride shows his work is more fresh and dynamic than ever, it's a given from some of the posts that the NEW Bodybags will sell even better than the numbers for the reprint so I really hope we can see more 100% Jason Pearson on a regular basis!

I have to say, much as I love the full colour Bodybags, based on his Ride work and the kicking new art above, if there were a B+W version of the new stuff too, I'd happily be buying both!

Great to have you back Jason!

Greg

[Bakema NL]

A new Bodybags book/series........count me in.

[El Argentino]

Terrific and welcomed news!

[Peagle8]

Nice!

I'll be looking forward to this and hopefully it'll sell well enough to get a new mini-series.

[grphxkindaguy]

Great news, can't wait for more BB!!!

[Tha Mauser]

Good to hear this!

[ALIEN_freak_jimbo]

That car is rad!

[Grendel Prime]

Originally posted by MattBrady
Let’s just say there was interest, and two new Body Bags projects are coming up as a result – one in November and another in January.

YYYYEEEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!

I am stoked!

Congratulations, Pearson. (Don't blow it.)

[Defunkt]

New Body Bags material!!! EXCELLENT! Can't wait.

[Kieran Howarth]

Funny. I just recently found the original Body Bags TPB from Dark Horse in one of my storage bins. I sat there and had to read the whole thing through once I opened that front cover. I just had to. I so enjoyed this project back in the day. Pearson is an exceptional talent. One of my biggest influences in regards to artistic skill. I am thrilled to see that there will be NEW BB adventures.

Well Done.

[KevenGardner]

Thanks for all the kind words! We're just as excited as you guys (or maybe even more so, if that is possible) about new BB stories!

Just a heads up for you Pearson fans:

Jason's 2005 sketchbook will be up for sale tonight here: 12 Gauge Comics Store

He doesn't want people jumping on Ebay and paying extra for them, so if you're interested, just place your order over there and they'll ship out after the con.

[FIG]

Great news, its great to see Jason Pearsons making a comeback. I can't wait to buy this new series. He is inspiring, the level of detail in his work is awesome.

[350z]

This is fantastic news. Pearson has matured and evolved artistically; he is even better than he was then (and he was good "then"). I am eagerly looking forward to this one--almost as much as I am looking forward to Jim Lee and Miller's Batman series, and the George Perez Teen Titans project. It should be fun.

[Charlie Hustle]

Ass kickery. He's one of those rare artists I REALLY want to be angry with over their shipping schedule but... I love his artwork too much lol. I'll make sure to pick this up, my retailer already knows to hold all of his stuff for me along with jose ladronn and a few other top notch artists.

[boomboom]

I am SOOOO there!!

[Cerebud]

Originally posted by Travel Exiter
Pearson's work can, at times, be utterly amazing. This really is the proper avenue for him.
Even if its not 'BodyBags' some sort of creator owned property would be best for him
I'd like to see more artists take this route.

I'd prefer that most artists stick with real writers. Don't get me wrong, I love Body Bags, but don't you remember early Image? All artists putting out what they thought was 'cool'? Those early books really sucked- hard. They only sold because the art was so great.

Body Bags is the exception to the rule. (well, not the only exception of course).

[Strike]

I just read the reprinted Body Bags that was just released this week. I missed it the the first time round, and this is my first exposure.

I absolutely LOVED it! I will definitely be up for more.