Randy Queen’s Darchyde Returns

[ENGLISH] LOS ANGELES, Calif., October 29, 2009 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that The Darkness/Darkchylde/Witchblade: Kingdom of Pain one-shot comic book will hit comic book store shelves late December 2009. Written by fan-favorite writer and artist Randy Queen and colorist Sarah Queen, the 48-page The Darkness/Darkchylde/Witchblade: Kingdom of Pain standalone finds Jackie Estacado, the bearer of the Darkness, with new nightmarish armor, and Ariel Chylde, the girl who can become creatures from her nightmares, with a new beginning. In addition to creating Darkchylde, Queen has the distinction of being the first artist to draw The Darkness after Marc Silvestri designed the character over 10 years ago.

In the crossover, marking the first appearance of Darkchylde since 2002, Jackie intercepts a psychic plea for help and inhabits Ariel’s nightmares.  In doing so, he awakens her from a seven-year, self-imposed exile.  However, summoning his Darkness Armor in her Nightmare world, Jackie’s armor comes over corrupted and darker. With a guest appearance from Sara Pezzini, the bearer of the Witchblade, what happens when these monster makers encounter a new threat that can create anything?

Additionally, the one-shot comic will include a brand new original 8-page preview of Queen’s next epic series, Starfall. The sci-fi series was announced by Top Cow at Comic-Con International 2008 and has been hotly anticipated by Darkchylde and Top Cow fans alike.

About Top Cow Productions Inc.
Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry’s Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT’s #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow’s other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow’s other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.