Since 2019, writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander have delivered an imaginatively macabre take on vampires with their Image comic book series Killadelphia (in case you missed them, check out our previous Q&As with Rodney and Jason). Following a shocking surprise appearance by Todd McFarlane’s Spawn in Killadelphia #30 back in April, the endlessly eerie series will return with a new nightmarish story arc this November, and in addition to the return of Spawn, readers can look forward to more big names popping up in the supernatural side of Philadelphia, including Blacula, Savage Dragon, and Count Dracula!
Below, we have a look at the cover art for Killadelphia #31 as well as the official press release with additional details. To learn more about Killadelphia, visit Image Comics' website, and in case you missed it, read the full first chapter of the Killadelphia spinoff series Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog!
Press Release: PORTLAND, OR – The Eisner Award nominated Killadelphia from writer Rodney Barnes (American Gods, HBO’s Winning Time, and the record-breaking new Star Wars: The Mandalorian comic book series) and collaborator Jason Shawn Alexander, the artist who redefined Todd McFarlane’s legendary Spawn for a whole new generation, shocked fans with a surprise appearance from the same character in the final issue of the previous story arc.
The Killadelphia series follows a small-town beat cop who returns home to bury his murdered father, revered Philadelphia detective James Sangster Sr. What he doesn’t anticipate is digging up a mystery that will lead him down a path of horrors and shake his beliefs to their core. The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality… and vampires. Now, it’s up to Jimmy and an unexpected companion to stop long-thought-dead president of the United States John Adams from building an undead army and staging a bloody new American revolution.
The forces of Heaven and Hell clash on the battleground that is Philly and weave into the tapestry of a larger universe when Todd McFarlane’s greatest creation crosses over into the pages of Killadelphia! All the power SeeSaw has gained and all the magic he's learned will be put to the test when he faces off against comics' greatest anti-hero! Anything can happen in this bold jumping-on point for new readers that will redefine the Killadelphia universe as we know it. The sold-out, Eisner Award-nominated series continues in a landmark story arc that will also feature canon surprise appearances by recognizable characters from outside Philadelphia’s city limits.
“It’s tough to convey how excited I am about this story arc. Big thanks to Todd McFarlane and Eric Larsen for lending us their creations” says writer and co-creator Rodney Barnes. “Also thanks to MGM studios for allowing Blacula to visit the city of Philadelphia. And lastly a humongous thanks to the late great Bram Stoker for creating Count Dracula who will be joining the battle as well. Great times!”
This next arc also contains a backup stories featuring Hell's Baddest Badass: Johnny Gatlin.
Praise for Killadelphia 30:
“It is not an exaggeration that if you read just one comic this week or maybe even this year, it should be Killadelphia #30.”–ComicBook.com
“Killadelphia #30 is a fantastic ending to the arc. The previous issues set up the twist brilliantly, leaving us looking over the unexpected precipice of what happens next, because there is going to be a next and it looks marvelous. I can't wait.”–Major Spoilers
About Rodney Barnes:
Veteran award-winning screenwriter and producer Rodney Barnes has established himself as a Hollywood mainstay, with his vibrant, emphatic voice and producing expertise securing him an overall deal with HBO in September 2020. From Adult Swim’s The Boondocks to Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Barnes has displayed versatility across a variety of genres in the industry’s largest and most influential programs.
Barnes is currently executive producer for HBO’s series, which chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Showtime Lakers during the team’s wild and fast-paced golden years, with the original film Ride Around Sharing in development at Netflix. The second arc of his critically acclaimed graphic novel Killadelphia was released in August 2020, with a television show in development at Levantine TV, has been tapped to pen a creative feature for New Regency with Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached to direct, and is writing a miniseries based on the life of golf great Tiger Woods. As well, he has signed a two-year overall agreement to write, direct, and produce original content for HBO. He has also formed Zombie Love Studios, a graphic novel production studio that will both adapt and create original graphic novels, beginning with a sequel to legendary cult blaxploitation film Blacula in 2023. Currently, he writes Killadelphia and Nita Hawes Nightmare Blog for Image Comics, and publishes original content through his Dark Apocrypha Presents Substack newsletter.
About Jason Shawn Alexander:
Jason Shawn Alexander is an expressionist figurative painter, illustrator, and comic book creator. Alexander pulls from the vulnerability, fear, and underlying strength of his rural upbringing, just outside of the haunting home of the Delta Blues.
Alexander’s work has been the subject of number of solo exhibitions, including the Corey Helford Gallery, Culver City, CA, and 101/exhibit. In 2009 his portrait hung in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC. His work is collected both in the US and abroad. Alexander has also worked over 20 years as an illustrator and comic book creator. He has earned two Eisner Award Nominations and the Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators. He has co-created and provided art for titles at DC/Vertigo, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. He’s also worked with the publishers Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Oni Press. He has also supplied art and storyboards for independent and short films, as well as motion comics for films like Pan’s Labyrinth and Predators.
From his first solo exhibition Insomnious at 101/exhibit in 2009, it was evident that Alexander had traced the thread and was pulling it through. A reviewer from ART NEWSwas moved to write, “Recalling Bacon’s portraits, the figures seem to cry out… Alexander’s impassioned application of oil paints underscores the barely contained violence of the visions, lingering like intimations of half-remembered dreams.”
Jason Shawn Alexander is painting and drawing in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and daughter. They also have two dogs.
About Image Comics:
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has six individuals on the Board of Directors: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino, and Eric Stephenson. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, 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.
Cover Art by Jason Shawn Alexander:
Variant Cover Art by Jae Lee:
Variant Cover Art by Francesco Mattina:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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