Top Cow : You Can Vote Now For Pilot Season 2008 !

[ENGLISH] Top Cow tells us : The voting polls for Pilot Season 2008 are now open, allowing readers to vote for their favorite title out of the six one-shots that were put out this summer. Polling stations are now set up at the Top Cow main site (www.topcow.com), the Top Cow MySpace page (www.myspace.com/topcow) and the Pilot Season MySpace page (www.myspace.com/pilotseason), with additional polling stations to appear on various comics news sites and blogs. Readers can vote once per day until the polls close on September 8, 2008.

Pilot Season is an annual initiative Top Cow began in 2007 that borrows its concept from the television industry: Six “pilots” are submitted for consideration to be “picked up for a season,” except instead of TV executives deciding their fates, it’s the fans who decide by voting online. Last year’s top two vote getters, Cyblade and Velocity, will debut with new series later this year. Over four million votes were cast last year through a partnership with MySpace Comics.

Here are the titles in contention this year, along with a campaign plea from each book’s writer(s):

• TWILIGHT GUARDIAN – Troy Hickman

“Why should folks vote for Twilight Guardian? Well, I guess I could appeal to their love for the underdog, since we’re certainly up against some big names here. Or I could suggest that if they really want to see a different kind of superhero book, they need to give TG all the support they can. Or I could even go for the sympathy vote, and point out that I just can’t eat any more five-for-a-dollar packages of Ramen noodles!

“But when it comes down to it, I want people to vote for TG because I believe we’ve created a darned good story that you’re going to enjoy, and if we get the opportunity to continue the saga of the Twilight Guardian, we’re going to show you stuff you’ve never seen before in a comic book. That’s a promise.”

• LADY PENDRAGON – Matt Hawkins

“Please don’t vote for my book!”

• GENIUS – Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman

“Spandex heroes!  Over-the-top super villains!  Huge multiverse crossover events!

“You’ll get none of that in Genius.

“A vote for Genius is a vote against the status quo. It is a vote to expand the types of stories comics can and should tell. Destiny Ajaye is the greatest military mind of our generation. She also happens to be a 17-year-old gangbanger from South Central LA who is unwilling to accept the world she has been handed: police brutality, institutional racism and viral apathy. Genius is a story that should be told. Trust us, it is a story you will want to hear the rest of.

“Our names are Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman and we approve this message.”

• ALIBI – Joshua Hale Fialkov

“Alibi is something that’s missing from comics right now. Ass-kicking, topsy-turvy, groin-punching, non-stop-crazy adventure with more plot twists then you can shake a stick at. If you want some pure action, without any of those sissies in their underwear moaning about something that happened 30 years ago on an alternate Earth, then Alibi is the book for you.”

• URBAN MYTHS – Jay Faerber

“People should vote for Urban Myths because there’s truly nothing like it on the stands. It’s ‘Chinatown’ meets ‘Clash of the Titans.’ A mix of murder and mythology, of detectives and demi-gods. It’s also got jaw-droppingly beautiful artwork by Jorge Molina, and we’re both committed 110% to making this the best book out there.”

• THE CORE – Jonathan Hickman

“Six books walk into a bar. Five of them have a great time – they hang out, have a drink, but inevitably, they go home alone. One bags two hot coeds. That book is The Core.”

“We are extremely excited by each of the books in contention this year but only two can go on to becoming their own series, so it’s up to the readers to decide,” commented Mel Caylo, Top Cow’s VP of Marketing and Sales. “If you really want your favorite to win, I encourage you to vote every day – and get your friends and your family to chime in, too!”

Previews for each book are available at www.myspace.com/pilotseason.