Anna Mercury Coming This April @ Avatar Press

[ENGLISH] Avatar tells us: Strap in and hold on, because this April, Avatar Press is launching Warren Ellis’ newest sci-fi series, ANNA MERCURY. Ellis’ all-new monthly serial is a high-octane blend of retropunk science fiction and 21st century Weird Pulp action, with a beautiful and mysterious spy-adventurer. Each of the full length, color episodes in the five-issue arc is stunningly illustrated by Avatar’s newest talent, Facundo Percio. Priced at $3.99 per issue, with covers by some of your favorite Avatar artists, the debut of ANNA MERCURY is NOT an event you can afford to miss.

Dancing amid the spires of a city called New Ataraxia, there is a woman who can cloud men’s minds, leap across buildings as if weightless, unerringly fire twin automatic pistols in the most insane conditions, and disappear in a crowded room. She fights against the political repression of an insane technocratic society, and she comes from a place that no-one in New Ataraxia has ever heard of.

And she’s got one hour to save the city from itself.

« She floats and leaps around the city like she’s Daredevil, Lara Croft and a character from CROUCHING TIGER all rolled into one, » Warren Ellis says, shedding (just a little) more light on his title character, « but no-one can get a good look at her. A lot of people don’t even think she’s real. »

« She’s real, » Ellis confirms. « It’s the city of New Ataraxia that might not be real. And yet there she is in this weird retropolis out of American 1950’s science fiction magazines, disrupting the activities of the War Department, Magnetic Science and the Metropolitan Police, apparently working for no-one but herself…because no-one living there would believe who she’s working for. »

ANNA’s not the only mysterious figure on the horizon. The miniseries will also introduce fans to industry newcomer Facundo Percio. Avatar Press is thrilled to have discovered this amazing talent and, if the early reactions to his first preview images on Ellis’ Whitechapel forum (http://freakangels.com/whitechapel) are any indication, readers are just as excited. Percio brings an incredible sense of movement and solidity to his illustrations of a NewPulp city and dynamic heroine that, until now, have only existed in science-fiction dreams. « The pages are cinematic yet incredibly well ‘photographed’ at the
same time, » says Ellis about Percio. « I personally love the fusion of European-style illustration with Anglo-American comics, and this guy’s a perfect example. »

Avatar Press artists Juan Jose Ryp, Felipe Massafera, and FreakAngels artist Paul Duffield are bringing their own versions of ANNA MERCURY to life with several incredible covers every month. Duffield’s standard covers show ANNA in sharp focus, and the gorgeous painted covers by Massafera are simply works of art. The full wraparound covers by Black Summer artist Juan Jose Ryp pack a solid punch, with full action shots of ANNA MERCURY and New Ataraxia. Ryp’s initial concept drawings for the title will also be available on a limited number of rare design sketch covers.

ANNA MERCURY #1 will be the premier issue of Ellis’ NewPulp fiction series which kicks off with five monthly installments beginning in April. Avatar Press Editor-in-Chief William Christensen notes, « Our readers made it very clear that they wanted more of the miniseries format that quickly made William GRAVEL (now the star of his own monthly series) a fan favorite. These arcs are fast-paced, sharp, and wired tight– Just like ANNA MERCURY. Every issue hits the ground running, pulling the reader into the plot at breakneck speed, and answering as many questions as it asks. » It’s been almost ten years since Warren Ellis’ William Gravel debuted, and he’s still going strong in GRAVEL, a monthly series. Avatar Press is thrilled to kick off Ellis’ new creator-owned miniseries vision with ANNA MERCURY, and bring new fans along from one jaw-dropping adventure to the next.