Creator Owned Heroes #1 Debuts in June

Everyone loves a good anthology. Anthologies are great ways to collect a ton of great content in one handy volume, giving you a look at some solid works. Image Comics has an anthology due out in June that will give readers a look some creator-owned heroes that you might not have heard of. "American Muscle" and "Triggergirl 6" are the first two titles showcased in the anthology, edited by Jimmy Palmiotti.

"With Creator Owned Heroes we wanted to not only have a place to introduce new ideas and concepts, but to give the reader a place to come each and every month to interact and explore the world around us," said Palmiotti. "This is a personal project that will continue to grow with the support of our readers and I for one am looking forward to its evolution."

"American Muscle" is written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Kevin Mellon. In It, a group of rebels break off from the last stronghold of human civilization in search of a fabled paradise on what used to be the west coast of the US.

"Triggergirl 6" is written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and illustrated by Phil Noto. It's a different look at the future, where a woman designed to be a perfect killer can be created in a tank and let loose on the world.

The first issue of the monthly anthology also includes interviews with comics and literature superstar Neil Gaiman and with cosplaying twins Juli and Alex Abene, who created a Triggergirl costume based on an incentive cover of the first issue. Creator Owned Heroes #1 is a 40-page book for $3.99 and hits stores June 6.

Full press release below.

HEROES GO INDEPENDENT

CREATOR OWNED HEROES anthology debuts in June

"American Muscle": a race against nothing across a post-apocalyptic America. "Triggergirl 6": the perfect assassin — except for her conscience. These are the first two titles showcased in the new Image Comics anthology, CREATOR OWNED HEROES, edited by Jimmy Palmiotti.

"Creator-owned" isn't just a business model — it's also a publishing philosophy that focuses on creators of comics, who retain the ownership and all the rights to their creations, rather than on "properties" that are corporate property. CREATOR OWNED HEROES was created not only as a vehicle for creators' creativity but emphasize the importance of this model to the reading public.

"With Creator Owned Heroes we wanted to not only have a place to introduce new ideas and concepts, but to give the reader a place to come each and every month to interact and explore the world around us," said Palmiotti. "This is a personal project that will continue to grow with the support of our readers and I for one am looking forward to its evolution. "

In "American Muscle," written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) with Kevin Mellon (HEART) on art duties, a group of rebels break off from the last stronghold of human civilization in search of a fabled paradise on what used to be the West coast of the United States. What they find, however, is something much different...

"Triggergirl 6," by Jimmy Palmiotti (Jonah Hex, QUEEN CRAB), Justin Gray (Power Girl, Jonah Hex) on the writing side and art by Phil Noto (Avengers: The Origin, THE INFINITE HORIZON) offers a very different kind of future, one where a woman designed to be a perfect killer can be created in a tank and then let loose on the world.

The first issue of the monthly anthology also includes interviews with comics and literature superstar Neil Gaiman and with cosplaying twins Juli and Alex Abene, who created a Triggergirl costume based on an incentive cover of the first issue.

CREATOR OWNED HEROES #1 is a 40-page, full-color comic book for $3.99. It is available now for pre-order from the April issue of Previews (cover A: APR120420, cover B: APR120421, cover C: APR120422) and will be in stores on June 6.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, 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.