ASPEN COMICS TO PUBLISH RUBIN'S IRON AND THE MAIDEN

[MattBrady]

Last year, we told you about creator Jason Rubin – you know, the guy behind the Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter video game franchises. Rubin had a comic book idea called Iron and the Maiden that he was looking to get rolling.

At the time, he had just about everything rolling, except a publisher.

That last blank has been filled in. Aspen Comics has confirmed for Newsarama that it will publish Rubin’s Iron and the Maiden - the first individually-creator-owned property in the company’s history – beginning in August.

And Rubin won’t be alone – from Aspen:

Joe (Ultimates 3) Madureira and Jeff (The Batman) Matsuda helped Jason Rubin’s extraordinary comic vision come to life by providing character designs for Iron and the Maiden, a four issue mini-series portraying an alternate-universe 1930’s metropolis. “The City,” is struggling to survive a three-way battle for power between The Government, the ominous religious sect The Order, and the seedy criminal underbelly led by The Syndicate. Caught in the middle of this war for power, Michael Iron discovers firsthand the meaning of sacrifice, his only hope for survival coming in the form of a forgiving Angel and several more unexpected surprises along the way! Jason Rubin on the journey of Iron and the Maiden’s production:

“Iron and the Maiden has been stuck in my head for over 8 years. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience to work with such great talent as Joe Madureira, Jeff Matsuda, Francis Manapul, Joel Gomez, and Danimation, and to finally bring this series out.”

Iron and the Maiden #1, debuting in stores on August 1st, will feature 50/50 split covers by Francis Manapul, and a Joe Madureira/Jeff Matsuda compilation cover. The series will also feature a host of guest covers by Jim Lee, Michael Turner, Jeff Matsuda, Chris Bachalo and many more. The new Aspen Comics series will also break the standard comic book format with each issue jam packed with 28 full pages of story. Even though the series’ books will all be slightly oversized, Aspen is offering each with a 100% Guaranteed Shipping assurance, or the books will be fully refundable to retailers. Editor-In-Chief Vince Hernandez discusses Aspen’s guaranteed shipping promise:

“Iron and the Maiden represents everything we look for in a property. It is an innovative story alongside gorgeous artwork created by the industry’s finest talents. Jason Rubin is a brilliant creator whose work in the video game industry speaks for itself, and we couldn’t be happier to have his first comic vision in our line of books! Because each book in the entire series is completed, we’re going above and beyond industry standards to max out the enjoyment factor for readers and retailers alike by making the issues larger, but still delivering each one to store shelves--on time—every month--guaranteed.”

The world of Iron and the Maiden is designed by Joe Madureira and Jeff Matsuda with background and concept designs by Blur, and is brought to life through the stunning pencils of Francis Manapul and Joel Gomez, with vibrant colors by Danimation. The creative team’s sprawling cityscapes and in-your-face action set pieces help to bring the aforementioned designer’s visualization to life in dramatic fashion.

In combination with the guaranteed release of Iron and the Maiden on August 1st, Aspen is planning to celebrate the big debut with a host of events.

The “Countdown to Iron Day” begins now. WWW.AspenComics.Com is the center stage for the countdown providing all the latest news and events for Iron and the Maiden. WWW.ComicSpace.Com/IronandtheMaiden kicks off the festivities with the “Prove Your Meddle, Show Us Your Iron” official Iron and the Maiden contest featuring daily prizes EVERYDAY until “IRON DAY” explodes on August 1st. Fans will be able to view new and exciting Iron and the Maiden art and previews, as well as enter the official contest offering a full-throttle amount of prizes on the aforementioned official Iron and the Maiden Comicspace page. “IRON DAY” will feature the guaranteed release of Iron and the Maiden #1 worldwide to comic shops along with more exciting news and events to follow. Check WWW.AspenComics.Com for more details.

[Hellspawn]

So that's why Madureira has only finished one issue of Ultimates 3 - he's drawing covers for Aspen.

[EmeraldGuy32]

Aspen is a cool company. I'd like to see them really succeed.

[mikey_danger]

It's always great to see successful artists from other visual narrative fields use what they have learned in comic format. I'm really looking forward to this!

[Marc_Spector]

Wow what a concept!!! Have all the books done prior to soliciting them!!! Wonder why this has never been thought of before. I'll pick it up for just that reason.

[stvnhthr]

Originally Posted by Hellspawn

So that's why Madureira has only finished one issue of Ultimates 3 - he's drawing covers for Aspen.

I'm pretty sure his cover is pe-existing game concept artwork that is being reused.

[Speedball93]

That is a pretty big list of top name artists attached to this property. The story will most likely be overshadowed by who drew the covers. If it gets good reviews then maybe I will take a look.

[stvnhthr]

Originally Posted by Speedball93

That is a pretty big list of top name artists attached to this property. The story will most likely be overshadowed by who drew the covers. If it gets good reviews then maybe I will take a look.

Francis Manapul is going to be a huge penciller star soon. I predict he'll be the next Ed Benes level of talent at DC.

[MR2525]

I was waiting and waiting to see when I would be able to get this book. August can't come soon enough!!
Francis Manapul is a hidden gem and those covers have me sold!

[Chuy]

Truth be told I'd rather have a whole issue of something "Snow White" even (as long as Willingham wrote it) and it was pencilled by any of those creators: Lee, Madureira, Matsuda ... than all these random dumb covers.

It's sad, they could put 22 covers together and probably have a complete issue, sure it would be all splash pages (remembers Liefeld fondly) but at least they'd be putting out comics, instead pin ups.

[Redmond]

I wonder if they spent more money overall on character designs and covers than they did on the actual product.

[Redmond]

Originally Posted by Chuy

at least they'd be putting out comics, instead pin ups.

And pin-ups should be free to the reader. Who pays 3-4$ for a cover. It would be funny if they started delaying books because the cover artist is late.

[stlfan79]

I'll be sure to check out Aspen's offering once they complete Soulfire instead of doing a bunch of spinoffs.

[shrike3000]

Dude, the reason Soulfire is late has nothing to do with the spinoffs. Soulfire is late due to medical reasons with the artist, its a pretty darn valid reason to be late. Try and be patient, I am confident it will be worth it.

Also, don't hold Soulfire's lateness against Aspens other projects.

[stlfan79]

Originally Posted by shrike3000

Dude, the reason Soulfire is late has nothing to do with the spinoffs. Soulfire is late due to medical reasons with the artist, its a pretty darn valid reason to be late. Try and be patient, I am confident it will be worth it.

Also, don't hold Soulfire's lateness against Aspens other projects.

I realize that soulfire is late due to medical reasons however they could easily put on another artist. Also I notice what seems like 2 Turner covers a week so I honestly can't understand why he can't get an issue out.

[steve2275]

i might get this